Babes
by PureVampirePriestess
Summary: Dante hated children. With a passion. Even though he protected the little things from demons when he had to work. He still hated them. They cried too much and wouldn't ever shut up. That's why the world dumped the one thing he can't stand the most into his life. And Nero happened to carry it right through his front door that evening. Rated M for later chapters/Yaoi/BoyxBoy/DxN
1. Squirming Bundle

A/N: Alright guys, I've decided to put this back up. The website that I was using wasn't giving me the raving reviews you guys do. There won't be any smut scenes except maybe some light stuff and fluff. If you want to read the chapters with smut scenes go to mitsuki – heartnet . deviantart . com (without the spaces) or look up Babes on the deviantart website.

Regular Font: Current

_Italisized Font: Memory or Flashback_

Chapter 1: A Squirming Bundle

Nero huffed as he walked down the street. The bone chilling wind whipped against his face and the water droplets against his skin felt like ice shards. It was flat out pouring and he was miserable. How could he have screwed up that job so badly? It was supposed to be an easy; get in, kill the demons, get out. And then a stupid civilian had to get in his way. One old man yelling about the end of the world was all it took to wane his concentration and the whole ceiling of the chapel went caving in. Ugh. He shrugged farther into his coat, his shoulders hunched as he passed a couple hugging close and sharing a useless umbrella. He took out his hands from his pocket to flip up his hood and zip up his trench all the way before putting his hands back in his pockets.

Most people walked along the streets quickly, wanting to get to shelter and out of the rain however; Nero didn't really care whether he got soaked or not. If he got wet it wouldn't matter anyway, he was already soaked to the bone the moment it started to poor and the chapel ceiling crumbled. He just wanted to get the night over with and get back to Devil May Cry to see the old man. His face warmed at the thought of seeing Dante after so many days of not being at DMC. He had been gone for a whole month after all. And Nero wanted to see his lover again after traveling around doing job after job. The word lover made him blush harder. It was true after all, even if he wasn't used to using the term. After things with Kyrie, he had realized that even though he loved Kyrie, it wasn't as deep as he or she thought that it was. He really only loved her as a sister, since she was the one who had cared for him since they were young. But Dante was different. Since he first saw the devil hunter he had felt attracted to him and honestly, after everything was over he still had his mind on the red clad devil hunter.

At first he thought his feelings were just of adoration considering that the devil hunter was more skilled (even though he didn't want to admit it) than he was. But after he had moved into Devil May Cry, with much fighting with Dante and him ending up paying for a pizza once a week, he started to feel more for him. The first time he realized he thought Dante was hot, he thought he just had raging hormones. Of course a teenager his age would think that, but when he stayed up at ungodly hours thinking about how Dante had looked "sexy enough to fuck" while moving around the office and how he had felt his chest ache when he saw Dante get injured during missions, his thoughts changed and he thought he had a crush on him.

He had been totally and completely wrong about that. He was in love with the silver haired beast. He loved the way his cockiness never got the better of him, how he only shaved when his stubble began to grow into a beard, how he looked like he had so much fun when they were on missions that he liked, everything. Not to mention how much... stamina the half-demon had.

Nero blushed at that and briefly thought about their nights in bed before he shook his head, trying not to get a hard on in the middle of the street. Nero sighed as he passed a pizza shop. Dante would have surely waited until Nero got home before they ordered pizza, because god forbid the old man order it himself and they purposely put olives on it.

_"Whenever I call they always add olives, even when I don't mention it!" Dante complained. "That's why I want you to order it from now on." He said defiantly sitting back in his chair with his signature smirk on his face. _

_ "The only reason they always put olives on it is because their tired of you creating 'tabs' because you can't pay for your food." Nero said flatly before dialing the phone to order._

So without missing a beat he strode into the shop and walked up to the counter. The man at the counter turned to Nero and smiled, clearly knowing the white haired devil.

"Back again Nero?" He said in a kind voice. Nero nodded.

"Yeah, just getting back from a job." He explained and the man nodded.

"The usual?" The man asked and Nero nodded. The man turned from the counter as Nero sighed and took out his wallet. Another fifteen dollars down the drain because of Dante's black hole he called a stomach.

"I'm putting the money behind the register; I gotta stop by the shop next door." He briefly explained, setting down the money and exited the building and entering the pouring rain again for the third time that evening.

The store next door sold custom bullets for pretty much the cheapest you could get anywhere but at an honest price. There was a certain type of bullet he had been looking to see that he could get and he wanted to see how much they would be. With all the money he was raking in, he wouldn't mind getting a present for the old man's birthday. Dante in all of his ignorant glory didn't know that Nero knew when his birthday was and honestly; the only reason he knew when Dante's birthday was, was because Lady had drug him away from Dante long enough to tell him the old man's birthday was in a few weeks. And when he said drug he meant it literally. Lady had decided that she wanted to talk to him and burst into the office while Dante had decided that he wanted attention before jumping the poor teen. Nero was not only embarrassed but angry as well.

So, now he was on his way over to the custom bullets shop to see if they had the bullet he wanted and could put the insignia on the bullet that he wanted. Nero passed by an open alley, not really noticing it was there until he heard a wailing scream come out of the darkness in a long, stretched out cry. He halted in place, as stiff as a board before he heard the cry stop. Looking around he didn't see anyone else outside on the soaked pavement, only the reflections of the street lights on the puddles and dark windows of closed stores.

The wailing came again only this time in a constant scream. He turned his head to the alley, knowing it was coming from the deep shadows and turning around to follow it. Backtracking quickly he hurried cautiously down the alley looking for the cause of the screams. The further down the alley he got the darker it got and he realized that even though there was no roof over head that the buildings got taller and taller. He got closer and closer to the sound and the wailing got loud enough that Nero's ears hurt, but he walked closer to it. Finally he got close enough that the alley broke out into four separate alleys and the moon shone down on a squirming bundle of wet cloth. Nero swallowed walking closer to it, hearing it cry lightly now and Nero heard his heart thumped loudly in his chest.

'Is that...?' He trailed off in his thoughts as he knelt down and pulled back the cloth.

In the middle of a cold, dark, damp alley, Nero found a bundle of blonde hair, pale skin and frail arms. The baby was wailing in discomfort and had its eyes clenched close in fear. Nero looked around the dark alley to see if anyone was present to look after the poor child. He knew if he found someone he'd give them a piece of his mind for even thinking of setting a child down in such a dangerous place. However, seeing no one he looked back down with a concerned look on his face. How could someone just leave a baby in the middle of an alley like this? Not to mention it was pouring outside and it was the middle of winter. He sighed to himself and wrapped the baby up in the cloth before glancing around again.

"I-is someone-" A hacking cough. "..there?" A feminine voice whispered, barely heard over the pouring rain. Nero looked over and peered into the darkest part of the alley. It was just barely noticeable but he found a mound lying on the ground and he picked up the child to walk over to the person who had spoken.

"Is this your baby ma'am?" Nero asked and as he got closer he could see how in horrible shape she really was.

The woman was beaten to hell and bloodied up. On closer inspection he could see that one of her arms was missing and her body was riddled with cuts. The smell of blood was strong around her and so was the remaining stench of demons.

"My baby..." She said again in a whisper before coughing again. "Where is my baby...?" She muttered and Nero knelt down with the child.

"Right here ma'am. Your baby isn't hurt." He explained and she smiled a little bit in the darkness.

"Good..." She paused, taking a deep breath and looking at him with scared eyes before continuing. "I'm sorry to ask you this... but you seem... good hearted..." She struggled to speak and he looked at her with worry.

"Do you want me to take your child to your husband?" He asked and she shook her head.

"My husband is dead... He died two months ago when our baby was born..." She coughed and her voice began to get weaker. "Could you... could you protect her? Protect my child?" She asked and Nero fought with himself for an answer.

How could he protect a child when he had trouble protecting himself with his work and his clients? But this woman was dying and this child had barely even begun to live. With all the demons around him on a daily basis how was he supposed to protect something so fragile? He sighed before nodding to her. He had to. There was no way he could leave such a young being in an alley for the demons to come back and get. She smiled at him.

"Thank you... Her name is... Thera... She was born two months ago... on... this day..." She said reaching up with her bloodied hand to touch her baby but her hand fell to the ground lifeless before she got to touch her baby for the last time.

Nero clenched his jaw shut in remorse and closed his eyes. The baby continued to wail in his ear but he chose to ignore it as he stood up and turned with Thera in his arms, his eyes scanning the empty alley in front of him.

"Shit, what do I do now?" He asked and sighed to himself. First thing was first. He had to get the kid to quiet down. He didn't need some other idiot clambering down the alley to find him with a dead woman and a crying baby. "Okay Thera, how is this going to work?" He asked the infant not expecting an answer but, for his sanity, asked anyway.

He held her close, not sure how to hold her and bobbed her up and down. Awkwardly he shushed her, and soon got to the point where he was bouncing her in his arms gently and switching from foot to foot to comfort her. Once she had quieted down she was gurgling and giggling at him. Her eyes opened to reveal glowing amethyst eyes.

Nero, looked at her questioningly before sighing and making his way out of the alley. He at least had to get the kid in some warm clothes or something so it didn't die from frost bite. He exited the alley and glanced around for any infant stores.

"Of course I'm not gonna find any. I'm in the shitty part of the city." He mumbled to himself as he walked slowly back to the pizza shop.

When he entered he gently put the cloth back over the baby's head so it wouldn't attract too much attention. The old man from earlier at the counter walked up to the counter, his eyes fixed on the bundle in Nero's arms. Guess his idiotic plan of hiding the baby didn't work so well.

"How old did you say you were kid?" The man asked with suspicion in his voice. Nero blushed like mad.

"It's not my kid!" He burst but remembering he had Thera in his arms he quieted down. "I'm babysitting for someone for the time being. She kind of dropped her on me." Nero only sort of lied. The man nodded as a woman came out from behind the counter and huddled next to Nero.

"Can I see her? She seems to be a bit uncomfortable." The woman asked and Nero reluctantly handed her over.

"Sure Rose. You wouldn't happen to have any dry baby clothes on you would you?" He asked scratching the side of his nose. "She kind of got wet because I don't have an umbrella." He said sheepishly. She looked up at him with a frown.

"I'd say so. She's soaked all the way to the bone!" She scolded and turned from him with the baby held close to her chest. "I have some but I don't know if they'll fit. You're lucky I had a baby last year." She said and he scratched the side of his nose in embarrassment before sitting down.

"Thanks Rose." He said before she disappeared with the baby. The man walked around the counter and handed him the pizza. He put his hands on his hips causing Nero to look up at him after he had set the pizza on his lap.

"I don't think you're going to be able to carry both at the same time, so I'll let you borrow my car if you promise to bring it back in the morning." He explained and Nero smiled at him.

"That'd be great Jerry. Thanks." He said and they both waited for Rose to come back downstairs with Thera.

When they came back down the stairs Thera was dressed in clothes that were three sizes too big for her, but were dry none the less. Her outfit was a forest green T-shirt that was over flowing the black over-alls she was wearing over top. She had little green socks over her feet with brown booties to keep her feet warm and a cap on her head. Rose was rewrapping her in a new blanket to keep the rain and wind out of her face.

"Sorry their boys clothes but that's all I have." Rose explained and Nero shook his head standing up with the pizza in one hand.

"They're fine. Thanks. I'll make sure to give them back when I return the car tomorrow." He explained and Rose tipped her head to the side in question.

"You let him borrow the car father?" She asked and Jerry nodded as he turned to walk back behind the counter and fill an order out.

"He can't carry a baby and a pizza at the same time all the way back to his place." He explained and she nodded.

"Okay well take good care of her. She has really pretty eyes you know. I wonder what the mother looks like." Rose complimented. Nero chuckled.

"Thanks Rose. And I will. Bye guys." He spoke walking outside with the pizza in one hand and Thera in the other. He walked over to the car and unlocked it using the key in the underside of the cars wheel cover. Once he had set the pizza inside he looked over at the bullet shop and back to Thera before sighing and walking back into the pizza shop. "Rose? Could you watch Thera for a while? I need to pick up something for Dante." He asked and Rose walked around the counter to look at the child for a while and Nero thought she was doing to say no, before she sighed and held her arms out.

"Fine Nero. But I'm not gonna be the babysitter of a babysitter for too long." She said taking the baby. Nero nodded.

"I know. It's just for a few minutes." He explained and jogged out of the store and into the bullet shop.

The man at the counter glanced his way before going back to reading a "Hunters Monthly" magazine. He had a bored but irritated look on his face which only went back to the bored look while he looked at the magazine.

"Kids aren't allowed in here." He stated and Nero glared at him.

"I'm twenty. Thanks for the compliment though. I came to look for some bullets for a friend's birthday." He explained and the man put down his reading parchment to look at him steadily.

"I.D.?" He asked gruffly and impatiently. Nero rolled his eyes and took out his wallet before showing him his Driver's License. The man nodded once before getting up from his chair. "What kind of bullets were you looking for?" He asked and Nero took out a piece of paper with the brand of bullets for Dante's gun. He handed it to the man and the man briefed over it before his eyes widened. "These sure are expensive bullets kid. How many rounds did you want?" He asked in awe and Nero tipped his head to the side in thought.

"I haven't really thought about it. How about ninety rounds?" He asked and the man looked at him in shock.

"Can you afford that? It's about a dollar ten for each round. That's a helluva lotta money." He asked and Nero looked at him seriously.

"Of course I can. I wouldn't be suggesting unless I knew I could pay for it." He explained and the man only shrugged before walking over to the case of bullets and extracting five cases of twenty bullets.

"Did you want any engraving on them?" He asked as he straightened to look at Nero and Nero nodded pulling out another piece of paper. He handed that slip of paper to the man and the man looked it over before grinning.

"Person must be pretty important for you do draw something like this." He said and walked over to the register, placing the papers on the counter. The first slip of paper said "Speer Gold Dot 230gr JHP (23966)" and the second slip of paper had Nero's name in scripted cursive writing and the woman from the Devil May Cry sign lying on top of his name. Lady also had the audacity to add devil horns and a tail because he had to ask Lady to draw the whole thing seeing as his artistic talents sucked. He had chuckled at it though and thought it had actually looked good.

"Yeah, I suppose he is. The old man's been putting up with my bull shit for two years now. Thought I'd get him something as thanks." He explained and the guy nodded.

"Alright the custom engraving is going to be an extra sixty for the total on all of the rounds along with the regular price, plus tax. The total's one hundred and sixty four dollars and thirteen cents." He explained and Nero took out his wallet again before taking out a wad of bill.

"Sweet, I'll still have enough to get him some shiner for his sword." He mumbled to himself as he put down the exact change and shoved the rest of his money into the wallet before securing it in his back pocket. "About ten grand left." He said grinning at the guy.

"What the hell do ya do for a living?" The guy questioned and Nero gave him a smirk.

"If I told you I'd have to kill you." He said seriously before bursting out in laughter at the guys face. "Nah just fuckin' with you." He said and put his hand on the table. "I'm a bounty hunter." He explained and the guy nodded.

"Must be getting a lot of jobs for as much money as you have." He concluded and Nero scoffed.

"Helluva lot more than my partners been getting. He only likes ones that interest him." He said and the guy stopped counting bills to look at him.

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about Dante would you?" He asked and Nero paused from looking around the shop to look at him.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" He asked and the guy laughed.

"He came here a couple of weeks ago asking if anyone had come in talking about him. The guy's been coming in here almost daily." He asked and closed the register. "On days he didn't have anything to do he'd stop to talk to me since this shop doesn't get that much business. Talks about how his partners been doing a shit ton of job and hasn't been at the office for a while." He explained and Nero nodded.

"Well then. It was nice to talk but I have a few errands to run before I go back to the shop." He explained and waved behind him as he walked out of the shop. He continued down the street to the pizza shop before entering and seeing Rose playing with Thera. "Okay, ready to go. I put the order in that I needed and it should be done in a few days." He said and Jerry gave him a thumbs up from the kitchen. Rose handed him Thera and he waved before setting off for home.

DantexNero

Dante sighed in irritation as he set down his magazine and tossed an empty beer can onto his desk. He had been waiting for Nero to get home like he said he would be two hours ago. Dante didn't want it to get to him, telling himself that Nero was probably just shopping or being held up by Lady. However, Lady walked into the shop with Trish in tow, demanding he pay his debts off. Again. And as the sun set more shops around him began to close, his fingers fidgeted with the sides of his magazine. So, to fix all of his problems-for the moment anyway-he set the magazine down and got up from his chair so he could pace.

And after a half an hour of pacing and his nerves being stretched into a thin almost nonexistent wire, he turned to the door to hear the beeping of a car horn, signaling that a door was locking. Surprised he glanced out the window to see Nero stepping out of a car and he flew back to his desk, propping his legs onto the desk and picking the magazine back up. He had to make sure it seemed like he was keeping his cool, even if he was going to tell Nero that he had been worried.

Nero entered through the big double doors before closing out the horrible weather and basking in the warmth of the office. Dante's eyes scaled down his form to check for any injuries that had kept him out all night but he only noticed pizza and a bundle of cloth being held close Nero's chest. Nero turned from the door and walked over to the couch silently.

"Hey." Dante said briefly and Nero waved distractedly. Dante watched Nero put the small wiggling bundle on the couch before he took of his rain coat. "What is that?" Dante questioned looking at the squirming bundle that was now gurgling.

"What is what?" Nero asked trying to avoid the conversation. Dante glared at him.

"_That."_ He said pointed to the wiggling blanket. Nero turned and picked it up. "I found it lying in an alley." He said pulling back the blanket. A small head of blonde almost silver hair popped out of the blanket and Dante forgot how to breathe.

End of Chapter Quote: "...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?" Sherlock Holmes in The Sign of the Four (Doubleday p. 111)


	2. Thera

Chapter 2: Thera

Nero put the child back on the couch and unfolding the blanket from around her, her little hand reaching out to grab Nero's devil arm. Nero jumped a little but when the child didn't try and eat his finger he sighed and watched her play with his fingers; waving his hand around like it was a wet noodle.

"The mother was attacked by a rogue demon and the father died two months ago on the day the baby was born. She asked me if I could protect it because I looked trustworthy." He explained and Dante scoffed. "Come on Dante, I couldn't just leave the baby to the hands of some low life demon." He growled and Dante rolled his eyes.

"Yes you could've." He said simply and got up. "We don't need any more mouths to feed." He said curtly and walked into the kitchen.

"You're a heartless bastard you know that old man?" Nero yelled after him and Dante emerged from the kitchen with another beer, fresh from the fridge and icy cool.

"I'm not heartless. I love you, you know." He explained as-a-matter-of-factly. Nero glowered and Dante chuckled. "You know if you want to keep it you're going to have to work harder." He explained and Nero stood up.

"What the hell Dante, She's not a dog you know!" He yelled and Thera burst into tears. Nero jumped where he was and turned to the wailing infant. Dante had his hands over his ears and he was glaring in Nero's direction.

"Alright, alright! Just shut the thing up!" He exclaimed and Nero glared dark blue daggers at him.

"Her name is Thera Dante." He stated before standing with the baby and rocking her gently. "And I don't have to work harder because I've been working my ass off to get money to pay off your debts!" He spoke in a raised voice instead of yelling so as to not frighten the child anymore. "It's okay Thera, calm down." He said quietly trying to calm her down.

"What's with all the racket in here? It sounds like someone's dying!" Someone yelled from outside and the door burst open causing Thera to let out a new level of screams.

"Fuck..." Nero whispered and he bobbed her up and down some more. "What's wrong? Are you hungry? Is that it? Crap do we even have food to feed her?" He asked ignoring the person at the door.

"We have left over pizza." Dante said and dodged the floor lamp that Nero had thrown at him.

"If the next thing that comes out of your mouth isn't something remotely smart then I'm going to shove a cheese grater up your-" He was cut off as Dante clapped his hands with a smirk on his face.

"Well if it isn't Lady and Trish. Glad you're back with the drinks." He said and Nero turned to the girls who were staring at him dumbfounded. Lady slowly put her bags down where she was and gave him a disapproving frown. Dante nearly grinned. "Nero brought home a present. Sadly it isn't the pizza." He commented and Nero almost threw another piece of furniture at him.

"Nero. Please tell me that isn't yours." Lady asked and Nero blushed like mad.

"Of course not!" He yelled and Thera-if it was even possible- wailed louder. "What the hell..?" He pleaded rocking her gently.

Lady sighed heavily and walked over to Nero before snatching Thera away.

"First of all you're holding her wrong." She said supporting Thera's head with the crook of her arm. "Second of all, bouncing her up and down like that isn't helping either." She explained gently bobbing her body in rhythm while swaying lightly. "Third, she's probably hungry or needs to be changed." She explained and lifted Thera up to sniff the child's diaper. "Yes. She needs to be changed." She stated and wrinkled her nose.

DanteXNero

"How'd you manage to pick up a baby?" Trish asked Nero on their way to one of the closest infant stores. Lady had been royally pissed at how Nero didn't even consider the fact that; yes, babies needed more care than adults do, like being changed every hour and fed every other. Nero scratched the side of his nose, hiding the nervous blush on his cheeks.

"The mother had been attacked by a demon. Her last wish was that I take care of it." He shrugged. "I guess I just have a soft spot for children." He concluded and Trish nodded as they pulled into the minimall. The stretch went all the way down and was almost as big as a football field. Too bad most of them were closed.

One of the only stores that were still open at the god awful hour they were out was a shank boutique on the very end of the minimall stretch. Toddlers and Tots it was called. Nero sighed to himself as he could already feel the money in his wallet disappear.

"So what are we getting here again?" He asked as Trish got a cart.

"Everything a baby needs." She stated as she went to the first isle and started putting things in the cart. Things began piling up as they breezed through isles throwing one or two or each thing into the cart. The entire cart was overflowed with things he had only seen on TV and some things he didn't know that they made.

A bottle, bib, pacifiers, baby powder, baby wipes, something called burp cloths, newborn sleepers, formula, Swaddling blankets, crib mats, socks, a cap, cloth wipes or wash cloths, T-shirts or all-in-ones, some sweaters, natural baby shampoo, diaper cream, baby nail clippers, Natural baby lotion, baby brush and comb, Gripe water, an insert baby bath for their bath/shower, baby carrier, infant safety car seat, stroller, bouncer, diaper bag, crib, mattress, waterproof pads, a freaking rocking chair(yeah he could feel a hole burning in his pocket by now.), digital thermometer, Nasal aspirator, Infant acetaminophen, night light, a baby mobile and shit ton of cloth diapers that he could reuse.

"So much for paying off Dante's debts." He mumbled to himself as he walked up to the register. The young lady at the register looked like she was about the same age as Nero. She smiled at him as she began ringing stuff up.

"Getting ready for the big day?" She asked and he looked away from her with a blush. She chuckled. "Most people would be happy, not embarrassed." She continued ringing the stuff up. Trish smiled back at her.

"It's a friend's baby. She doesn't really have the money or many friends so we're paying for most of the stuff." She flat out lied and Nero grumbled something inaudible. When the lady finished ringing them up she looked at them expectantly.

"That'll be $1351.49 please." She said and Nero almost cried.

He pulled out his wallet with a sad look on his face and took out another chunk of his cash and handed it to the woman. She smiled put it in the register and gave him his change. It honestly seemed like she was trying to break her face, either that or she was just happy that he wasn't having a kid and was the happiest woman on earth because she thought she had a chance. Too bad he was gay...

"Thanks and have a nice day." She said and they left the store, bags in the cart to be placed into the car before they headed out. Nero glared at the dash board all the way home of course because Trish offered to drive. How could he offer that up? He was too pissed to look at the road after all.

"I never thought having a kid would be so expensive." Nero complained walking through the doors of Devil May Cry. He was carrying the crib, which was full of bags, making it easier to carry in more.

"Yeah well don't complain. We got everything and most of the stuff we won't need to buy again." Trish explained and Nero exhaled a little as he put the crib full of stuff down and turned to see Dante sitting at his desk holding Thera in his arms awkwardly. Nero broke out in a fit of giggles which oddly, was out of character for him. Who knew he could giggle?

"Shut up and come over and change her. My nostrils are dying." Dante complained holding out Thera while Trish set her stuff on the desk.

"He'll do it while you go outside and get the rest of the bags." She ordered and took Thera from him making Dante pout in his own special way. This usually consisted of him making some sort of annoyed sound and dropping his feet from his desk before getting up to actually do what he was told.

Nero straightened and walked over to take Thera from Trish before holding her on his hip and looking to the bags. Trish smiled at him from behind his back before shaking her head and sitting some bags on Dante's desk and going through them. Dante exited the building so he could get the rest of the many bags that were in the trunk and back seat.

"Now we just have to find out where everything is." Nero said and Trish nodded.

"First thing's first. We need to find the blanket to put her on so we can unpack all this stuff." So they sifted through all of the bags one by one. After the third bag they found the blanket and set it on the floor in front of the couch before searching for the diapers, wipes, and baby powder. Dante came in then and set the rest of the bags down on the floor next the door before going back and sitting in his chair, watching silently while they were working.

"Found the diapers and baby powder." Nero said and turned to see Trish hold up the wipes. Next he set to work on changing Thera as Dante watched from his place at his desk. "Seriously, how do babies crap this much!?" Nero complained and Thera giggled. Dante let out a laugh.

"Kid we still crap a lot. Babies just eat a shit ton more than we do." He explained and Nero stared at him for a minute before going back to changing Thera. "What did I say something stupid again?" He asked and Nero shrugged.

"No. It just surprises me you know something about parenting." He explained and Dante laughed.

"It's not parenting its common sense. Have you seen the way kids shovel down food compared to teenagers who starve themselves and still gain weight?" He asked and Nero smirked at that.

"You're very observant." He said and picked up Thera and the dirty diaper before he got up and walked into the kitchen to throw the diaper away.

"Throw it outside! I don't want this place smelling like dirty baby!" Dante called from the office.

"Whatever you say your hine-ass!" Nero called back in a smart tone. Dante rolled his eyes and Lady and Trish walked through the front door carrying a big box.

"What the hell is that?" Dante asked and Trish rolled his eyes at his irritated tone.

"A play pen." Lady said in an enthusiastic tone. "Thera can hang out in here while you guys are down here in the office _working_." She said stressing the last word.

Dante picked up a magazine completely ignoring the last word and started to flip through it. Lady glared at his inability to do any manual labor before Nero came out of the kitchen holding a sleeping Thera and looked over at Trish and Lady.

"Could you two help me bring the crib upstairs? I want to put her to bed." He explained and they nodded. Dante, of course, stayed where he was and read while they worked. 'Lazy old man...' Nero thought as Nero helped Trish up the stairs with the crib while Lady held Thera.

They set up the crib in the spare bedroom where Nero used to sleep before he moved into Dante's room and he set Thera into the crib gently before taking the blanket from downstairs and covering her up before he left the room silently and walked back downstairs to find Trish and Lady gone for the third time today. He walked around the stairs and to the couch, looking over at Dante to see the red clad devil still reading the same magazine.

"Did the girls leave?" He asked quietly. Dante looked up from his magazine to see Nero walk over to the TV to turn it on, clearly surprised that he wasn't completely pissed at him for how he had been acting all day.

"Yeah. They said they had stuff to do." He said going back to his magazine. Nero made a noise saying that he had heard and flopped down on the couch.

"I'm gonna die before that kid turns two." He said and Dante chuckled.

"At least it'll be an eventful two years before you die." He said and got up from his chair. Nero grunted closing his eyes as Dante walked over to him and leaned over the back of the couch. Nero opened one eye to stare up at him, his dark blue orb burning into sky blue ones.

"You're helping me with her. I don't care if I have to drag you around to make you do it." Nero stated and Dante sighed scratching his head of shaggy silver hair.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll help." He said and leaned down farther to peck Nero on the lips.

Nero opened his eyes and leaned up to catch Dante's lips again, this time in a deeper more heated kiss. Dante growled and snaked his hand into Nero's hair before pulling back.

"You wanna wake the kid?" He asked in a joking voice. Nero blushed and averted his gaze to the TV a few feet away.

"Why would I want to do that when she just fell asleep?" He asked and Dante shrugged straightening and walking away.

"Why do you scream so loud during sex?" He asked and Nero let out a defending 'HEY!' before Dante retreated to the kitchen to find pizza. Nero sighed at his too go-with-the-flow lover and stood from the couch, not feeling like he had the energy to stay up anymore.

"Whatever, I'm going to bed." Nero called not caring if he heard or not as he set for the stairs. When he was in their room he stripped to his boxers before crawling under the covers of their bed. 'Perverted old man.' He thought before he closed his eyes and focused on sleep.

DantexNero

3:58AM

Thera started wailing from the other room and thanks to the baby monitor in their room that Lady had so generously put their while they weren't looking, Nero was submitted to the screaming cries of the hungry female next door. Groaning he flipped over and nudged Dante's side.

"Old man, go feed her..." He complained and nudged him harder. Dante only snored louder in his sleep. "...Dante... Come on..." Nero said sitting up and shaking him by the shoulder. Dante kept snoring. 'How the hell does he sleep so god damned heavily?' Nero thought to himself as he stretched his foot out and put it to Dante's side.

He gave one giant shove and Dante went tumbling over the side of the bed. He landed with thud, shaking the entire floor before he lurched up into a sitting position looking around in a panic. Nero just lay back down and flipped over.

"Go feed Thera." He demanded and Dante groaned getting up.

"That's one helluva way to wake me up kid. Why not a kiss next time?" He asked and Nero growled from where he was lying. "Okay, okay, sheesh. Calm your nuts kid. I'm going." He said and Nero lurched up from bed to throw a pillow at the retreating devil hunter, but the pillow only hit the already shut door.

"Perverted old man..." He mumbled blushing before lying down and rolling over.

Through the baby monitor he heard the door open and Dante walk in, his footsteps hitting the floor almost silently as he approached the crib.

"Hush up kid… er what'd Nero say your name was? Thera?" He chuckled. "Well whatever." There was some rustling and Thera immediately went silent. "Jeez kid. What am I, your stop button?" He asked her and she gurgled.

Nero chuckled at that. Thera was completely taken in by Dante and Dante wasn't even someone who should look at kids let alone care for them. Nero heard Dante walk around before the door opened back up and closed behind him. The baby monitor went silent and Nero could hear the other's footsteps pass their room before they went down stairs. Nero sighed again and closed his eyes again for the third time tonight before he fell asleep.

Dante entered the kitchen and opened the fridge which was stocked with enough food to feed an army-courtesy of Nero's now nearly empty wallet- to which he took out a bottle of milk from the door of the fridge and popped it into the microwave-which he didn't remember having until the first time he had to feed Thera around eleven.

While the milk was warming in the microwave Dante let Thera play with his finger as he looked at her eyes.

"That's one helluva pair of eyes ya got their kid." He spoke softly, his voice feeling loud in the nearly silent house. "I still don't understand why the kid brought you home instead of dropping you at the orphanage. You'd have an easier life their then here." He spoke to the bumbling baby.

The microwave beeped and he popped it open before checking it like Lady had told him to so it wouldn't burn Thera's mouth. He leaned against the counter while he fed Thera, the baby suckling the nipple of the bottle loudly. Her little hands gripped the sides of the bottle clumsily and Dante wondered just how old this baby actually was. She didn't look old enough to be more than a few months and he remembered what Nero had told him.

_ "The mother was attacked by a rogue demon and the father died two months ago on the day the baby was born." _That meant that the baby was only a few months old right?

"No wonder you're such a shrimp." He said smirking as she downed the rest of the bottle.

He dumped the bottle into the sink to get washed before walking into the office and looking at the bags strewn across the floor before walking over to the couch and sitting on it. He sifted through one bag after another before he found one of the pacifiers and stuck it in Thera's mouth.

"There, now you can't cry." He said before sitting back and laying his head on the back of the couch. There were more suckling noises as Thera went to town on the pacifier in her mouth. She latched her hand onto the blanket Dante had wrapped her in before bringing her downstairs and put her other hand on Dante's shirtless stomach. He looked down at her and she looked up at him with big round purple eyes, still suckling the pacifier. "What?" Was all he said and she continued to look at him. "Do I have something on my face?" He said and her eyes started to drift closed. "I really am your stop button aren't I?" He asked and her head bobbed a couple of times before her suckling slowed and she fell asleep.

He sighed and laid his head back against the couch again, not feeling like getting up. Getting up at ungodly hours wasn't killing him like it normally would to anyone else- only because he was used to it- but he didn't want to have bags under his eyes when he woke up. Those are never fun to look at. Slowly, his consciousness began to wander to other things and he fell asleep with Thera cuddling into his chest.

Dante was out cold, so cold that he wouldn't sense or hear the door to the office slowly unlock and creak open in the early morning.


	3. I Have To What?

Chapter 3: I Have To What!?

The door creaked open only enough to let through a small figure before shutting silently again. Dante snored softly from his place on the couch while Thera slept soundlessly in his arms. His arms were wrapped protectively around the child and had gotten there when he had shifted in his sleep. Waking up three times in one night can really wear someone out. Now he couldn't hear the audible footsteps on the floor. Even his devil inside was fast asleep from fatigue. The figure crept closer to the pair on the couch, its mouth formed into a small smile before it reached for the baby in warm arms. Dante let out a particularly loud snore and the hands froze, waited a moment, and then went back to reaching for the baby when Dante didn't wake up.

"Come here little one..." The figure whispered, the words coming from their mouth like the wind. Just when their hands had reached Thera, there was the cocking of a gun. The forms head jerked up in panic the see Dante still asleep and then the lights flicked on. "Wha-"

"Get away now if you don't wanna have a hole in your back." Nero's deep voice came from behind the form. His voice was thick with sleep and anger.

They stood up straight as they looked behind them and red hair fluttered around caramel colored eyes. Pale skin and a white dress were light up by the light and Kyrie stood in front of Dante with a shocked look on her face. Nero's eyes widened when he realized who was standing in the middle of the office. The finger on the trigger of his gun loosened and his hand wavered, the shock of seeing Kyrie here at such an ungodly hour made him more confused than anything else.

"Kyrie?" His voice came out confused as well. Kyrie smiled at him and she turned when she heard shuffling behind her to see Dante yawning and holding Thera tighter as he noticed Kyrie standing in front of him. "Why are you here?" Nero asked and Kyrie turned around before walking over to him.

"I just came to visit and thought that if I came early I could make breakfast for you." She explained and Nero cocked an eye brow.

"At seven AM?" He asked and she blushed.

"Y-yeah." She stuttered looking down at the ground. Nero's eyes narrowed.

"That can't be the only reason." He said and remembering he had his gun pointed at her, he lowered it. Kyrie looked up at him with a big smile not trying to hide anything anymore. What was the point when she was in the same house with two protective demon hunters?

"Lady came over to ask if I could help with Thera." She finally admitted and Nero sighed.

"You could have just told us that... I almost shot you out of reflex." He mumbled the last part to himself as he walked over to Dante, who was standing up from the couch before taking Thera from him. The baby turned into him and he smiled down at her before turning to Kyrie. "It's not every day we have someone walk into Devil May Cry before it opens." He explained and Kyrie fidgeted with her hands nervously.

"Sorry." She said simply and he smiled at her. She looked like she was scared and he chuckled at the fact that she had not gotten scolded but seemed to think she had.

"Oh well, if you're making breakfast go on. We just went shopping." He explained and Kyrie smiled back at him for a moment then hurried into the kitchen. Nero turned to Dante who was rubbing kinks out of his shoulders before chuckling for the second time that morning. Dante looked at him.

"What?" Dante asked and Nero shook his head, his head of shaggy silver hair falling into his eyes.

"Maybe you should sleep with Thera from now on. It looks like you're her 'off button'." He said before giggling. Dante smirked and walked over to his desk in that famous uncaring way of his.

"You're just jealous because you're not a chick magnet like me." He said and Nero rolled his eyes his whole demeanor showing he honestly wasn't amused at Dante's comment.

"If I was then at least I'd know how to control it." Nero said and Dante chuckled.

"Kid, I am controlling it." He said and Nero sighed in irritation before turning for the stairs.

"I'm going to put her to bed before getting a shower and grabbing the baby monitor. Don't flirt with Kyrie while I'm gone." He said pointedly and Dante made a grossed out sound.

"Not with your dear older sister, why would I do that baby?" He said and chuckled.

Nero fought the blush growing up his cheeks at the way he had said 'baby' and walked down the hall to Thera's room silently, making sure not to bounce too much so he didn't wake her up. When he entered her room he stopped in the door way and looked around the room silently before walking over to her crib. He gently put her in her crib, draping the blanket around her that was piled at the end of the crib before running his fingers over her forehead gently and exiting the room. Walking down the hall he entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him before stripping and turning on the shower. Once he got in, the scalding water hit his skin and he sighed, taking in the heat before leaning against the wall and closing his eyes.

'I've been through a lot, but raising a baby isn't something I wanted to do. I already have one big baby downstairs to take care of.' He thought to himself and straightened so he could take a decent shower.

Dante put his magazine down once he heard the shower start and looked toward the kitchen. Kyrie was calling for him.

"What'd'ya want babe?" He called back and Kyrie came out from the kitchen with a spoon in her hand.

"Don't call me that." She stated with a frown before turning. "I can't cook for all three of us by myself." She said and walked back into the kitchen. "Come help me." She called and Dante frowned.

'So much for visiting Nero while he's in the shower.' He thought curtly before standing and walking to the kitchen. 'My sex life is going to be dead at this rate.' He thought with a defeated look as he strode into the kitchen to help Kyrie.

Ten minutes later and Nero stepped out of the shower feeling like he had slept for two weeks. He stretched and grabbed his towel before shaking out is hair and towel drying it before wrapping the towel around his waist and exiting the bathroom into the chilled air.

'It's cold out here. Need to have the heater fixed.' Nero thought to himself as he walked down the hall to his and Dante's room to get his clothes, his body cooling off before he slipped into a pair of black jeans and a dark blue T-shirt. He shook out his hair again to get rid of any tangles before grabbing the baby monitor and heading back downstairs.

He really was surprised that Kyrie was here and even more surprised that Lady and Trish would even consider asking her to help with the baby. The last time Trish had talked with Kyrie it was the day they had come over to Devil May Cry to ask Dante if he could move in. Nero had insisted that Kyrie stay in Fortuna but she ignored his arguing and went with him anyway. Trish had been 'visiting' at the time and was fighting with Dante over when he was going to get his debt paid off and Kyrie had went off on her saying things like 'everyone is having a hard time right now' and 'just because you're not having money trouble doesn't mean he isn't' and they just never got along after that. Of course once Kyrie figure out how utterly _lazy _Dante was she regretted saying the things that she did.

Nero's thoughts cut off as the tantilizing smell of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and toast filled his nose when he entered the office from the stairs. Dante burst out of the kitchen holding his hand and yelling curses while Kyrie followed in his path. Nero stopped at the bottom of the stairs looking around at them with a confused look.

"Fucking stove, why do we even have one of those damned things?" He grounded out through his teeth and Kyrie tried to walk around him to look at it. Of course Dante already knew the answer seeing as how they were cooking on it at the moment, but he was still pissed.

"Calm down Dante and let me take a look at it." Kyrie asked and Dante inclined his head to look at Nero who had just made himself fully visible around the stairs.

"Nero, you're cooking whenever we need to cook." He hissed through his teeth and clenched his hand shut before shaking it and straightening. "its fine Kyrie, just go cook." He told her in an irritated voice.

Kyrie flinched at his voice but went back to the kitchen none-the-less. Nero shook his head at the two of them before walking up to Dante and taking his hand gently in his human hand. He flipped it over to see the singe burns in his palm before sighing.

"You're amazing. How do you not know how to use a stove?" He asked Dante shrugged.

"I didn't even know we had one until Kyrie showed me." This caused Nero to give him a skeptical look before turning on his heels and pulling Dante along by his wrist.

"Well just sit down and watch the baby monitor while I help Kyrie finish cooking." He said nearly tossing Dante into his desk chair and setting the monitor down on the desk before kissing Dante's cheek and hand before leaving. Dante blinked in confusion before shrugging.

"Whatever you say, kid." He said nonchalantly before picking up a guitar magazine and flipping it open to a random page.

A few minutes passed with just the distant sound of bacon hissing on the stove before Nero burst out laughing and Kyrie yelling.

"Watch where you fling butter Nero! I don't need greasy hair for the rest of the day!" She yelled and Nero only laughed harder.

"Sorry… sorry, I'll... Pffft try to get it out." Nero said trying to stifle his giggles.

Dante smiled at them, Kyrie never came over and the couple's job kept them fairly busy so Nero couldn't make the day long trip to Fortuna. Not to mention the nagging need to be with each other as much as possible. Their demon sides were like that, needing to be near their mate as much as possible.

Dante frowned at the memory of when Nero needed to go half way across the freaking earth for a job that had ended with a warm welcome home on Christmas day and a lot of sex. During the time that Nero had been away he hadn't felt like doing anything really but sitting around and moping, hoping he'd get a call from his mate telling him that he'd be home within a day like he usually did. But those five months Nero had been away were like Dante's own little hell. He had only taken a few jobs out of the ten that he had received and hadn't taken any of the jobs that Lady and Trish had offered. By the end of the three months both women had been sympathetic toward the half demon. Even Nero's smell had completely left the office by the second month and no matter how much Dante thought it wouldn't get to him, sitting in his office by himself without even the smell of his mate made his demon side nervous and jittery.

So this was one of those few moments that he was glad Nero could laugh freely and be close to him without having to worry about him going on any long trips.

The phone rang suddenly, taking him from his thoughts and he sighed before kicking his legs up on the desk, causing the phone to fly up and into his awaiting hand.

"Devil May Cry." He responded into the phone.

"Looking for any jobs recently?" Lady's voice came from the other end.

"If I wasn't do you think I'd answer the phone?" Dante asked languidly, tossing his magazine onto the desk and putting his free hand behind his head. "What do you have this time?" He asked and Lady chuckled.

"Just a termination job, the downtowns been having some trouble with a rogue demon." Lady paused for a second. "Well actually it's more of a mermaid than anything else." She said and Dante dropped his legs on the floor causing the chair to hit the floor with a loud cracking sound.

"A mermaid? Lady if you're bull shittin' me again-" Dante said and Lady cut him off at the legs.

"Why the hell would I bull shit you on a job that you could get done in an hour?" She asked and Dante scoffed.

"You've pulled more on less before." He stated as-matter-of-factly and Lady sighed in irritation.

"Do you want the job or not?" She asked and Dante rubbed his head.

"Chill out Lady I was only fuckin' with you," He said and Lady made an irritated sound. "Look, give me more details and I'll see." He tried to come to an agreement with her and she sighed.

"Fine, the bitch has been killing every guy that comes into one of the gym pools down in the finest outskirts. Either you or Nero can take the job, but I'm not sure he's ready for this one." Lady informed and Dante just shrugged even if Lady couldn't see it.

"Nero's gotten better, he's good enough to take jobs like that. I'll ask him what he wants to do, but 'the bitch' doesn't sound that interesting to me." He said and tossed the phone so it landed back in its place on the desk. As soon as he went to pick up his magazine again Nero walked through the door of the kitchen holding two heaping plates of food.

"Who was that on the phone?" Nero asked and he put the plate on the desk. Dante eyed the food hungrily and caught the fork Nero tossed at him.

"Lady, just offering you a job." Dante explained and Nero cocked his head to the side in question.

"A job for me?" He asked as Dante shoveled some food into his mouth. He swallowed before answering.

"That's what I said kid. You're gonna be taking down your first mermaid." He said pointing the fork at Nero. Nero in return, blinked.

"You're kidding me right? A mermaid? You mean one of those things that has a human half and giant fin?" He asked and Dante smirked at him.

"A hot babe in the demon world who'll eat 'ya if you're not on guard." He said and sat back in his seat. "The thing lives in water; it seduces guys who get near enough that it can touch 'em. And once that guy's too high on his own hard on, she kills and eats 'em." He explained and Nero scrunched his nose before looking down at his suddenly unappealing food.

"And you want me to do this job?" He said. Dante shrugged.

"Lady told me it was up to either of us, just seems boring to me. Thought I'd tell you but to me it seems like it would be too much for you." He said and Nero glared at him.

"I've done harder stuff before." He said and Dante grinned a Cheshire cat grin.

"I know." Dante said in a suggestive way which made Nero blush.

"Perverted old man!" Nero yelled as Kyrie came out of the kitchen with her plate. "That's not what I meant." He said and forked his food around his plate. "I've taken harder jobs before." He restated and Dante chuckled.

"I know. I know. Just messin' with ya kid. So you wanna do it?" He asked and Nero looked up with a glare.

"If we get money for it, of course." He said as Dante shoveled more food down. "Besides, we can't be that picky with all your debts adding up." He said and Dante shrugged. Kyrie sat down on the couch next to Nero and smiled.

"I think doing as many jobs as possible would be a great thing to do. Especially now that you have Thera." She said and both Nero and Dante looked at her before Dante and Nero burst out laughing.

"Kyrie d-don't worry about it.. okay?" Nero said after he had settled down again. She looked at him in question and he shook his head. "You, agreeing to that kind of job is something I thought I'd never see." He said before turning to Dante. "You're on old man." He said and Dante chuckled before they got down to really eating their food.

Once they were done Kyrie took their dishes into the kitchen and set them in the sink before turning the nob so that water would come streaming out. But none did.

"Dante?" Kyrie called from the kitchen.

"Yeah?" He called back.

"The water isn't working." She called and Dante let his head fall back against his chair.

"Fuck, I forgot to pay the water bill." He said and Nero grinned.

"At least I got to take a shower." He said smugly and Dante rolled his eyes at the teen.

"Don't push yourself kid. You have a job later; you know how messy those can get." Dante said and Nero grimaced before gurgling came from the baby monitor. Nero grinned.

"That just means that you and Kyrie are going to have to take care of Thera while I'm gone." Nero said getting up from his seat.

"Wait, together?" Dante said and Nero nodded. "I just cooked with her for an hour!" He exclaimed and Nero snickered.

"I know, and while you're home here being lazy I get to bust my ass. Deal with it." He said finally as he made his way upstairs. Dante sighed and rubbed the back of his head before leaning back in his chair again and looking up at the ceiling.

'He knows I don't like Kyrie.' He thought to himself as Kyrie came out of the kitchen and smiled at him.

"Are you alright? Do you need any help taking care of Thera while Nero is doing his job?" She asked and Dante sat forward arms in the desk in front of him.

"No, taking care of that kid isn't that hard." He said flatly and she frowned.

"Alright but if you're having trouble please tell me. That's why I'm here after all." She said and Dante merely nodded. Kyrie made her way over to the couch and righted the two pillows that were there before she started to pick up pizza boxes. Dante couldn't take it anymore.

He had never really liked her from the start, but once he figured out she was a clean freak, well there life styles just did _not_ match. He liked things to pile up before he cleaned house and things for her needed to be in the exact place for her. The last thing that really pissed him off was when she touched the picture of his mother.

She had been cleaning his house the last time she came down here and while he was in the kitchen getting pizza she had taken liberty upon herself to touch everything on his desk, including the picture of his mother. He was _livid_ with her because she had not only picked it up and walked around with it, but she ended up dropping it and shattering the glass in the front. His human side wouldn't have been that pissed but because of his half demon blood, the possessiveness over his 'family'-well the picture of his family- had taken full on furry at the poor girl. He had not only yelled at her but made her cry, and thank god Nero wasn't around for that. Now he didn't like the girl at all.

Dante stood from his chair and walked slowly but tensely to the stairs before she turned and sighed, watching him climb the stairs in silent anger before disappearing into the upstairs hallway. She looked around the messy office and shook her head before setting down the pizza boxes she had picked up and sat down on the couch, looking awkwardly around for the remote. The last time she had come here to visit Nero had showed her how to use the television, even just the basic power button and channel up and down. Seeing it on the end of the couch arm she picked it up and turned the TV on, turning down the volume when she heard it blasting.

Upstairs Dante entered Thera's room, seeing Nero changing the child on the changing table they had brought up last night. He walked over to him and put his arms around Nero's waist causing the younger one to tense at the older one's sudden appearance. Then, sensing Dante's anger he relaxed and turned from changing Thera to look him in the eye.

"Was she cleaning again?" He asked and Dante rolled his eyes.

"She was doing everything again. She's like another mother that I don't want." He explained and Nero chuckled, taking Dante's face in his hands.

"I'm sorry you have to deal with her, but you're really not used to Thera yet and I just want to make sure that if you can't figure something out then she'll be there to help." He said and brought their faces together to lightly press his lips against Dante's. Dante sighed at the contact and pulled Nero closer to him, pressing his lips harder against Nero's.

Nero groaned at this and wrapped his arms around Dante's neck, pulling the other closer and licking his lower lip. Dante's mouth opened for the younger one's tongue to explore while his hands traveled up the other's shirt. At this Nero pulled away, pushing Dante back by the shoulders. Dante pouted catching his breath.

"I have to finish changing Thera, and you know we can't do that while Kyrie is here." Nero scolded and Dante shrugged.

"She won't be able to hear us if I send her out to pay my water bill. The water might even be on to take a shower together afterwards." He said and Nero rolled his eyes before turning away and back to Thera. The child gurgled and blew bubbles.

"Don't be like that old man." He simply said and Dante chuckled at his flustered mate.

"Yeah, yeah, but I _will_ seriously send her out to pay my water bill if I have to." He said and took Nero's hips in his hands before nuzzling the teen's neck. "I don't want to have to wait weeks before I just jump you." He chuckled then. "That's never fun for you." He said and Nero blushed before turning with Thera in his arms.

"Go put her downstairs in the play pen and do what you want; I'm going to get ready for my next job." He said and pecked Dante on the lips before giving him Thera and exiting her room. Dante blinked and looked down at Thera.

"Somehow I feel like I just got cheated out of the good part of this relationship." He said to her and she giggled up at him. He sighed and went downstairs before setting her in her play pen and nearly throwing himself into his chair behind his desk. "When am I gonna live again?" He mumbled and Kyrie looked over from her show to smile at him.

"I'm sorry, what?" She asked and he waved his hand in disconcert to her. "O-okay." She said and went back to her show. Nero came clomping down the stairs minutes later with Blue Rose and Red Queen strapped closely to his body. She gave him a gentle smile before he noticed her and grinned back. "Good luck." She said and he nodded.

"See ya when ya get back kid." Dante said and Nero huffed.

"Yeah, see ya old man." He said shortly waving behind his back as he exited the building. "I'm borrowing your bike." He said and Dante let his feet fall to the ground before throwing him the keys.

"Don't hurt her; I don't want to have to give her another paint job again." Dante said in return and Nero merely caught the keys before waving and letting the door close behind him. Dante shook his head. "Kids getting cockier every day." He said and Kyrie chuckled.


	4. Decorating

Chapter 4: Decorating

It only took a half an hour of Nero being gone for Dante to sigh and get up from his chair, boredom finally setting in and eating at his patients. There wouldn't have been any problem waiting for him to get home, none at all. He usually just sat where he was and either took a nap or read his usual magazines with a beer, except; he was genuinely tired of having all of the baby bags all over the room. Not to mention Kyrie fidgeting on the couch. So, to fix those problems, he grabbed some bags, dumped them onto the table and turned to Kyrie.

"Come on, help me organize this stuff. You probably want to anyway." He said and Kyrie gave him a nervous smile. Sometimes he couldn't understand why she was so skittish. The woman was old enough already to know the difference between fight or flight and it seemed like all she did was fly.

"Of course." She said and stood up so she could pick up a few bags before putting them on Dante's desk. Well at least that was somewhat of a fight tactic, he guessed. "Do you want to put all of the things that go up to her room in the same bags so we don't have to make extra trips?" She asked and Dante shrugged, not really caring.

So, they began sifting through bags and pulled things out. Kyrie emptied one whole bag and gave it to Dante before she began placing things inside the bag. Once that bag was full and a few bags on the desk were emptied, she put the remained objects into another bag so they could stay down in the office and placed both bags to the side before picking up some more from in front of the TV and repeating the process over again. Dante had to admit, this was a mind numbing task if he ever had to do one, but once everything was separated he took the seven bags up to Thera's room and Kyrie followed so they could unload them and place them around.

"We might need to go out and buy cabinets." Kyrie said as-matter-of-factly. "You don't even have a table in here." Kyrie said and Dante looked over at her from taking some diapers out of a plastic bag.

"Why?" He asked and she pouted, clearly scolding his lapse in concentration when she was talking to him.

"Because Dante, you need some place to put this and this is going to be Thera's room from now on. She should at least have the privilege of having some decoration to her room. This place looks homey, but it's bland. At least paint the walls a different color and get some shelves or something." She said and this time Dante couldn't help but agree.

The room only had-other than the bags they had brought up- the changing table and her crib. The furniture from when Nero had lived in it was gone; thrown out with the trash a while ago because he saw no need in keeping them. He wasn't a hotel after all. So he simply nodded and piled the bags out of the way against the wall and stood up.

"So where do you want to go to get the cabinets?" He asked as he exited the room and Kyrie, confused, followed behind.

"We could go to the kids store in town. I passed it on my way over here this morning. It sells kids furniture." She explained and he rolled his eyes, making his way downstairs.

"Alright, well it's good the kid only took my bike and not my car." He said and Kyrie nodded. "It looks like he returned the other car too." He explained mostly to himself and Kyrie looked at him in question but said nothing.

Dante made his way over to Thera, who was on her stomach gurgling before he picked her up and held her while Kyrie picked up Thera's stroller so she could open it so she could put it together. Dante gave her a skeptical smirk before walking over to her and holding out Thera.

"Why don't you put her in a sweater or something and I'll put it together." He asked and she looked up from the confusing contraption before nodding and taking Thera and making her way upstairs to where they had taken the many outfits of winter clothing. Dante shook his head at her and knelt down so he could put the thing together. It wasn't hard, only following directions, which he knew how to do. "Wonder what's takin' her so long." He mumbled to himself as he put the shade flap back on the stroller that was now fully assembled.

Then, footsteps came from the second floor and Dante watched Kyrie come down with Thera in her arms. Thera was dressed in a thick cotton grey and pink striped sweater underneath a fluffy baby pink almost white marshmallow coat with a white fur trim hood. She was also wearing grey sweat pants and little pink shoes over thick cotton socks. Dante raised an eye brow at the puffy looking child as he saw the child's happy face. The colors contrasted too much which only made her eyes stand out that much more because of the contrast on dramatic colors.

"She looked like you stuffed her, who picked out those clothes?" He asked and Kyrie smiled sympathetically.

"Trish did, I suppose. She was the one who went with Nero to shop last night. We can pick up some more if you want." She said and Dante rubbed the back of his neck before nodding.

"She might be a girl but something less frilly would go with this place better." He explained as Kyrie put Thera in the stroller.

"I agree, and it's also snowing outside, you might want to bring an umbrella with us." She explained and Dante looked at her for a moment before turning around.

"I don't have an umbrella. Never needed one." He said and she gawked.

"Okay, well we'll have to get one of those while we're out too. You have enough money right? To be getting all of this?" She asked and Dante nodded.

"I have the rest of the money that Nero gave to Trish to pay off my debt. Trish gave it to me for if I ever need anything." He said and Kyrie nodded.

"And how much do you still have?" Kyrie asked and Dante shrugged taking out his wallet. He counted it and his eye brows flew up in surprise.

"This kid's been working his ass off." Dante said flipping his wallet closed. "There's about eight grand left in here." He said and Kyrie's eyes widened slightly as well.

"Well your birthday is coming up; maybe he was saving up for that reason." Kyrie said then immediately shut her mouth with a nervous look plastered on her face. The girl really needed to work on her poker face. It really sucked.

"How did you know about that?" He asked and before she got the chance to answer Dante smirked and turned away, heading for the car. "I'm gonna have to talk to Trish later." He said and Kyrie blushed in embarrassment before pushing Thera's stroller out the door behind Dante, who, for once; was polite enough to hold the door open long enough for the stroller to get through. Kyrie had to push the door closed with her foot. "The place you want to go to is about an hour from here. The kid should get back while we're puttin' this stuff in the house." He explained and Kyrie nodded, even though he couldn't see it.

On their way to the store they stopped at the store a few blocks up so Kyrie could run in and buy an umbrella before they headed out again. Thera made pleased noises behind them from her place in the car seat as she sucked on a toy Kyrie had brought. It was a stuffed teddy bear with golden fur, a bit too flashy for Dante, but apparently just a normal toy for children in Fortuna. That was just another reason why he couldn't stand the stupid place.

While Dante drove, an uncomfortable silence grew between them. Dante, always the one to ignore situations like this, didn't seem to notice in the least that Kyrie was fidgeting in her seat. He did however notice every time she took a look at him, which; Dante wanted to think it was a stroke to his ego, but was probably because she was nervous he would blow up at her again.

"Look," He began making her go ridged in his car seat and he sighed. "I don't know what the hell I did but stop being so god damned jumpy. It's annoying." He said and when her shoulders slumped and she still didn't look at him he pulled into an ice cream parlor, his car not slowing down for the turn and Kyrie's face plastered against the window before he stopped in a parking space. "Are you still freaked out because I yelled at you? Because that was nearly a year ago and if you haven't noticed, I don't care anymore." He said and opened the car door. "Stay here, I'll be right back." He said and shut the door before she could protest. Kyrie watched him enter the parlor silently then sighed.

"I know you don't care anymore Dante, but I'm still disappointed in myself for doing something like that to something that was so precious to you." She said quietly to herself and then frowned. "And when it comes to saying something like that, why can't I just say it to people's faces?" She asked herself and rested her forehead against the cool window. She heard Thera making all sorts of vocal noises behind her and she smiled. "Thera, you're quite talkative today, why don't you tell him for me?" Kyrie blushed at her own statement before sighing. "I'm starting to think Dante actually wants Thera." She said to herself.

True, Dante stopped complaining about it when he woke up, except for the occasional "Why did the kid bring you home?" Comment, which, truth be told; didn't really have any true curiosity behind it. He just felt the need to complain sometimes. Thera all around was the cutest baby Kyrie had ever seen. The amethyst eyes just made her that more adorable, even though the eye color was an odd color for anyone to have, though she had seen odder colors; especially Nero and Dante's hair.

Minutes after her thoughts had floated off and she fell asleep with her head against the window, Dante entered the car, holding an ice cream cone and a strawberry sundae. He shook his head at her and gently nudged her with his elbow.

"Hey, wake up." He said and Kyrie jolted awake before looking around tiredly and, noticing Dante now sitting next to her, looked down at the ice cream offered to her. "Take it, my hand is gettin' sticky." He complained halfheartedly and Kyrie took the cone from him. "I also thought about it, and you don't have to beat yourself up about what happened. Shit happens." He said before chowing down on his sundae. Kyrie looked down at her vanilla ice cream cone and back to him before she bit the top off. Then she smiled.

"Thank you." Was all she said and Dante wasn't even sure if he heard that as he looked over at her and saw her licking at the ice cream happily.

After Dante had finished his sundae they set off again, going into the main city and passing by the tallest sky scrapers in the whole city. Kyrie looked out the window with fascinated eyes, her head craned back to try and look at the top of the buildings. Dante just shook his head at her, stopping at a red light. Thera threw the teddy bear up into the front, making it land right in the middle of them. Dante looked down before back at Thera, who's eyes were shining with anger, or at least they seemed to be; in anger. Dante's brows creased together before he looked at the bear again and noticed that the bear was no longer gold, but a dull brown color.

"The fuck?" He asked and picked up the bear. Kyrie turned to look from outside and her eyes widened at the bear.

"What did you do to it?" She asked and Dante shook his head.

"I didn't do anything to it." He said and looked back at Thera who was now happily giggling again. "She threw it up here like this." He explained and Kyrie looked back at Thera with questioning eyes. "You sure this thing was really gold?" He asked and Kyrie nodded.

"Yeah, I brought it from home. It was my bear before I grew too old for it. Fortuna doesn't approve of playing with toys when you get too old for them." She explained and he rolled his eyes in irritation.

"Okay well then how the hell did it turn brown then?" He asked and Kyrie shrugged. Thera clapped her hands when Dante threw it into the back on the floor. She seemed honestly happy it wasn't anywhere near her now. "Seems like she didn't like it anyway." He said and the car moved forward again when the light turned green.

They drove in silence most of the way there, occasionally hearing Thera make odd noises of happiness as she played with the straps on the car seat. Dante knew why it had turned brown like that. Or at least, he had a pretty good guess. If the color of her eyes was anything, she was probably a type of demon, but he didn't want Kyrie knowing that. He would have to confirm his suspicions when he had the chance.

They arrived at the store a half an hour later, Dante occasionally glancing back at Thera through his rear view mirror. He pulled into a spot closest to the door and got out, shuddering at the cold air hitting his barely covered form. Maybe he should have bought a winter coat after all. Kyrie got Thera out of the back and Dante took out the baby carrier from the trunk before setting Thera in it and covering it with a blanket so the snow didn't get in her eyes. Thera giggled under the blanket.

"So we're getting just cabinets? Or did you want to look at something else?" He asked as Kyrie picked Thera's carrier up from the car trunk and they made their way inside.

"I thought we'd look at the cabinets and maybe get some shelves as well." She explained and he nodded, contemplating on how much they would be able to fit into the room without it looking crowded.

"That's fine." He said walking into the warm store and someone in the store greeted them with a warm smile.

"Welcome to children's housing, what are you looking for today?" The middle aged man said and his smile wavered when he saw Dante's face. It's not his fault; Dante just has that way about him that makes him unapproachable. Kyrie smiled and held the gurgling Thera in her arms. The man turned to her with a more confident smile.

"We're looking for a few cabinets and shelves." She explained and the man's smile grew.

"Okay, what kind of shelves?" He asked and began walking in a different direction. Kyrie followed.

"Something to keep new born items in, like diapers or clothing." She said and the man nodded.

"Well lucky for you we just got a new shipment in of items. They're even new to this store. We've never gotten this brand before." He said and went down an aisle. They followed, Dante at the back and Kyrie following eagerly in the middle. "Is the baby a boy or girl?" He asked and Kyrie thought for a second.

"It's a girl, but we don't really want anything pink and frilly. More neutral." She said and the man nodded understandingly as he glanced back at Dante's smirk.

"Okay, well we have quite a selection for neutral then." He said and stopped in the middle of the isle. "These are the cabinets we just got in over here." He said and put his hand on the blue cabinet. "These ones go above tables and children's cubbies." He said and Kyrie looked at Dante who shook his head. The man nodded. "If you're looking for darker colors this is your best bet." He said and walked a few steps before pointing with his foot. "These are durable and have a light cherry paint of them." He said and Dante tipped his head to the side before looking at the man expectantly. The man swallowed. "These also go over tables and the cubbies but they have doors instead of drawers." He said opening the door to show different compartments. Kyrie smiled.

"Do you have anything orange?" She asked and Dante looked at her like she had two heads.

"Kyrie if you make me buy orange anything for her you're never visiting again." He threatened and she pouted.

"But with the two of you taking care of her, she's never going to have any color in her room." She said and the man behind them smiled.

"Oh, you aren't the mother?" He asked and Dante fought the urge to bark a laugh. Instead he huffed and averted his gaze. Kyrie gave him a scolding gaze before turning to the man.

"No, I'm just keeping an eye on these two while the other parent is away." She said and the man nodded.

"Well if you're looking for different colors, why not just take a look around. Most of our products are sturdy and will last longer than most. The one's that I don't recommend are the ones in the very front of the isle. The plain white ones up there have been having problems lately." He said smiling kindly. "Just come get me when you're ready to look at the shelves." He said and turned around to leave.

"Thank you." Kyrie called as he left the isle. Then she turned to Dante. "You even manage to scare away sales people." She said in a scolding voice before sighing and turning to the cabinets again. "Look around, find one you like, I'll point some out for you if you like." She said and sat down in one of the kiddy chairs that were conveniently places on the other side of the isle. Dante rolled his eyes at the girl but went about looking at the cabinets.

It's not like he hated going shopping, but doing this sort of shopping was _not_ his style. He would be more comfortable with just going to a regular furniture shop. All this cutesy stuff was getting under his skin. Now he kind of felt bad for making Nero goes into the worst store that he could've entered, it was like baby express was his personal hell. Well, one of them anyway.

Just then one of the selves caught his eye. It was a dark strawberry color, almost cherry but it had a gold etching on it, like something Kyrie or Nero would have in their kitchen, but still managed to look like a kid's piece. He walked over to it, crouched down (seeing as it was on the very bottom) and started to mess with it. He pulled open the door, which already had the child safety part put on so kids couldn't get into it without the parents help. He pulled out the drawers which also had the safety and even had little gold etched knobs so it was easier to pull out. He looked at the wood work on the top and bottom, feeling for any sharp edges before nodding and standing up.

"This one'll do." He said shortly and Kyrie looked up from playing with Thera so she could look at what he had found. Her smile was so wide it looked like it hurt.

"That's perfect." She said and turned Thera around so she could show her. Thera smiled her toothless grin and laughed. "I think she likes it." She said and Dante nodded.

"Okay, I'll go get the guy, you stay here." He said and she nodded.

Dante shoved his hands into his pockets and went in the direction that the sales man went in. It only took him a few minutes to find him three isles down price checking things. When the man saw him he smiled a little nervously.

"Did you find the one you want?" He asked and Dante nodded. The man stood up then. "Okay, and you said you also wanted shelves?" He asked and Dante nodded at that too.

"Something that reaches the floor." Dante explained and the man nodded.

"Well let's go to the front and get a board cart to collect your cabinets first." The man said and Dante nodded.

When they had gotten back to the isle Kyrie was in Dante saw her feeding Thera with a bottle they had brought along in a baby bag. She looked up and smiled at him before standing with Thera in her arms.

"She was hungry so I took the distilled water and formula in the bag and warmed it under the faucet in the bathroom." She said and Dante nodded. The man loaded the few cabinets of the same design onto the cart before he turned to them.

"The Shelves are the next isle over." He said leading them to it while pushing the cart. When they got there Dante looked down the long isle at them all. "Seeing what you picked out for the Cabinet, you might want something like the shelves down here." He said and walked down the aisle until they came to a pair of shelves.

The first shelf was a simple ivory shelf with gold etchings of music notes. Half notes, eighth notes and various different types of rests and other notes were scattered around music bars that crawled up the sides of the shelves. It looked almost like a book case but there was no top to it and the shelves were to be screwed into the wall. The second shelf was ebony with the same engravings in gold only it was a little taller than the ivory one.

'Ebony and Ivory, how ironic.' Dante thought smirking to himself. Kyrie beamed at them and looked over at Dante.

"What do you think? I think they'd look great in her room." She said and Dante nodded.

"Why not?" Was all he said and Kyrie nodded to the salesman. The man put two boxes onto the cart and nodded to them.

"These'll need to be assembled, but the cabinets go as they come." He explained and Dante nodded.

They headed up to the register and the woman their greeted them with a smile. This store seemed to be all smiles. Another thing that made Dante hate this place. Thank god he wasn't coming back to this place within the next three years. He'd kill something if he had to come back here too soon. ...Well he was probably going to have to kill something anyway because of his job but... Yeah, whatever. The woman rung there things up before the total sprung up on the register.

"That'll be one thousand two hundred and thirty seven dollars." She told Dante and with a disbelieving look, took out his wallet to give her the rough amount.

"Keep the change." He told her and she gave him a surprised look but nodded and put the changed in a saucer with the rest of the piling pennies, dimes, nickels, and quarters.

"Have a nice day." The woman said and Dante waved behind him before they disappeared through the open door.

The sun shined brightly down at them and Dante knew it was about noon when they reached his car to put the furniture inside it. The snow had piled up on the roof of his car and they stepped through about a foot of snow to the trunk.

"I don't know how much we can fit in the trunk." Dante said and Kyrie chuckled.

"Well we still have the back seat." She said and Dante shrugged.

While Dante loaded the car, Kyrie put Thera back in her car seat, strapping her in and covering her in a blanket. Thera's amethyst eyes fluttered shut and she reached for Kyrie blindly before her hands lay on her lap and she was sound asleep. Carefully Kyrie closed the door as Dante shut the trunk and opened the back seat door to put the cabinets in the back seat.

"The kid asleep?" He asked and Kyrie nodded as she opened the door to the passenger side to get in.

"She's had a long morning." Kyrie said and couldn't help the chuckle that slipped from her lips. Dante smiled at that before he went to return the cart and got in himself.

"Well now that there's snow all over the road I don't know how long it'll take for us to get home. People in this city don't know how to drive in this weather." Dante said and then mumbled something about idiots and not being able to take care of their asses against nature. Or something like that at least.

The ride home was silent except for the radio Dante turned on and turned it to the front before setting it on a low volume. He changed the channel to blues and then they both looked out the window; one for driving and the other out of boredom. When they got home Dante took in both cabinets, carrying one in each hand (Because we all know he's the shit and could carry a whole car if need be.) before going back for the boxes. Kyrie on the other hand brought in Thera, carrying her in the carrier and the stroller in each hand before setting the stroller against the wall and carrying Thera upstairs. She carefully undressed her, put her in her pajamas and held her close to her chest.

"You really are adorable." Kyrie whispered to the sleeping child. "Nero and Dante are lucky to have you as their child now. I'm glad Nero has the life he does now. He doesn't belong in Fortuna." She said with a sad face. "His personality just runs in the opposite direction that Fortuna does. He belongs in Capulet with you and Dante. I'm sure you would be a wonderful family." She said and Thera started to suck her thumb. At this Kyrie put her in her crib and went over to the baby bag, fishing out a pacifier before popping it in the child's mouth. "Now I just have to find someone that I can love." She said and smiled to herself before she heard Dante's shoes clomping on the stairs.

"Did you put the brat down for a nap?" He asked and Kyrie frowned at the 'brat' comment but still nodded. "Okay well let me set these up before we put the rest of the stuff away." He said quietly putting the boxes down. "We can put the cabinets up when she gets up." He explained and Kyrie nodded in agreement before smiling. Yeah, Dante and Nero would make great fathers.


	5. Crimson Waters

NOTE: Before the story begins I would like to say that I read a story after I had already started the mission and the mission's like, almost the exact same thing... Only the other story had a succubus. I guess they're similar, only, succubus sing and well, I guess mermaids do too but at least mermaids look cute. Succubus just put up a front. SO, I want to say that I did not steal the idea. I promise.

Chapter 5: Crimson Waters

Nero entered the gym building silently, his footsteps inaudible to the human ear, hoping that the people had all filed out when he had told them to. He wouldn't have been surprised to find some pair of teenagers making out in the bathroom or some old people who couldn't hear to get the memo. When he came up to the gym pool room he spotted a keep out sign on the door, its brightly colored writing on black paper was nearly blinding but he could still tell what it was. He rolled his eyes and stopped in front of it, taking out bloody rose.

"Like a keep out sign is gonna keep teenagers out of the pool." He said and gently pushed the door open, his gun by his side, finger on the trigger. He slowed his breath so he could hear everything that came out of the room in front of him. "Come out come out, wherever the fuck you are." Nero stated in a bored tone.

A high pitched giggle rang out through the room as he took a few steps inside the room. The chilling giggle sent a tingling sensation down his spine and he glowered at the uncomfortable sensation. Indeed the sensation might have felt good if it was with Dante, hell it would've made his head reel. But with the high pitch of the voice, it just made him disgusted. Dante was right to warn him about the succubus. Now if he would just listen to the old man... maybe he would get through each job with fewer injuries...

"Another boy has come for a swim?" There was another giggle. Then there was a pause before it made an appreciative sound. "But it seems like you like playing rough." The melodious voice rang out and Nero could smell the disgusting scent of demon everywhere. It was nearly overpowering, which meant that it had been here for quite some time. How the hell long did they let this thing dwell here before they realized it was _killing _people?

His senses were so sharp, every ripple of water, every drop that hit concrete, every slight scrape nearly made him jump. His eyes scanned the room, seeing nothing but water from the pool and the occasional floatie or pool noodle around said pool. The pool lights were on in the room, giving it a blue glow. Seeing as the pool room had no windows it was quite dark. Even the main lights on the ceiling weren't on. Why hadn't they turned the lights on above? Well, the cheap bastards didn't want to waste any more electricity than they needed, which only made this job all the more difficult. His eye sight was nearly perfect in the darkness considering he had devil blood running through his veins, but the blue waves of the water reflected onto the walls, making everything seem like it was moving. Sea sick much?

"I like more than playing rough." Nero said in a low rough voice and took a few more steps into the room, feeling confident in his ability to keep himself under control. "I like it so rough; most can't walk in the morning." He said and his face broke out in a flat out grin. The mermaid laughed a fluttery laugh. It caused a chill to creep up his spine and settle in his head. It made him nauseous.

"Oh? Should I be looking forward to something?" The mermaid asked and Nero shrugged from his place in front of the open door.

"You might, but I can't give anything to you unless you come onto land." He said in a nonchalant way. He normally didn't play like Dante did but what better way to get a whore from the sea onto land then acting like him. He always attracted weird people. The mermaid made a tsking noise from behind Nero and he whirled around so he could see her.

But she wasn't there.

"You know how my kind is, don't you boy?" The mermaid asked. Nero snorted.

"If I didn't I'd be in big trouble, now wouldn't I?" He asked and took the remainder of his steps until he was standing near the edge of the pool. "How's that? Better for the seductress of the sea?" He asked and the mermaid giggled.

"Oh you flatter me. But I am surprised." She said and Nero paused, but when she didn't explain her awe he glanced behind him before looking back at the pool.

"Why is that? Do people like me not come around often?" He question and he heard her chuckle.

"You could say that. But I say; I've never seen someone with so much, beauty." She said and suddenly he felt the coldness of a hand on his neck.

Immediately after her hand had connected he felt a heat. The heat flowed from where she touched and poured through his head and down his neck. It was like her hand had opened a channel of fire in his brain and it began flowing through his body. The feeling was like being rolled in a fiery blanket of silk and his knees suddenly felt weak. Despite this, his arm swung around, trying to pistol whip the demon but unfortunately hitting nothing but air. Inevitably the mermaid had to let go so it didn't get hit, and the cold air met the place where her hand had been. The feeling stopped and Nero was left panting, the heat from before now centering on his groin.

"Bitch." Was all he said and the mermaid whined.

"Now, now, don't be like that. I'm only doing what you said." She complained and her voice sounded like it was all around him, his head constantly spinning to find out where she was. "I'm on land like you wanted." She said and this time when Nero turned she was right in front of him, her hands outstretched towards him. He stood frozen in place with his gun pointed at her. The barrels of the double barrel gun covered up half of her face where he had aimed to shoot.

He was struck by her beauty. He knew that, from what Dante had told him; the mermaid would be pretty, but he had no idea the mermaid would be _this _beautiful. She had luscious blonde hair that reached her hips. It shined in the darkened area like the sun, veiling her in a curtain of gold. Her eyes glittered like the waves of the sea, a beautiful sea green with a hint of blue and her skin was a finely tanned color that shined and sparkled with the moving water. Despite this Nero just gave her a dead pan look before smirking.

"See? Even a bitch can listen." He muttered to himself and smirking at remembering what Dante had said about the pizza guys, which was weird to think about at this moment but it made him laugh none-the-less.

The mermaid got closer, her hands skimming over his jaw now, and that warmth from before exploded in his head once again, starting at his head and making its way down to his groin. He forced himself not to moan as her hands slipped under his ears and around his neck. Her face got closer and before her could regain his composure she was kissing him. Her lips felt gentle but slimy, like she has put some type of slime on them. The heat from before increased. It burned under his fingers, in his stomach, and as his eyes were forced closed it burned behind them too. He couldn't help the groan that left him and a picture of Dante doing this ripped another, darker one from his throat. She let go of his mouth, running her lips along his jaw and down his neck. He couldn't move at all, he was frozen. He was paralyzed by the heat that she was forcing on him. It made him hot and angry; hot because she could start the fire within him and angry because she could do it so damned easily.

"That's right, you like that, don't you?" She asked and Nero growled in frustration. He didn't want this with a demon, he wanted it with Dante. He wanted Dante to be the one to touch him like this, kiss him like this, set the fire under his skin and make him melt... "You want me right?" She asked and licked his neck. Nero's fingers twitched in rage at her as another memory of Dante's laughing face entered his fuzzy mind. He had done something completely idiotic and ended up flooding the kitchen when he added too much detergent to their laundry. And Dante had laughed... Not with her. No.

"No." He let out in a strangled voice mixed with pleasure and rage. "Get off." He demanded and let out another growl. Pleasure pulsed through him, causing his head to fling back as she nipped at his neck. "Damnit..!" He growled out and his hand twitched. 'This thing is going to take advantage of me. I can barely move and this bitch is going to seduce me to death. Heh, Dante said I couldn't take on this job.' He almost laughed at that but was distracted when her hand traveled down his shirt to his pants. He jerked violently when he felt her hand touch his growing erection. His groin was on fire, burning so hot that he was nearly delirious.

"What do we have down here?" She said and pets his growing member through his jeans which were quickly tightening; much to Nero's displeasure. "How might this feel... if we... tasted it...?" She whispered seductively as she slid away from his face and slithered down his body.

Nero groaned as he heard the zipper on his pants go down and the thought of Dante doing the same thing made his eyes snap open because, no matter how fucking amazing this felt, no matter how hot he got or how much he wanted it at that moment, it wasn't Dante, it was a rogue demon. Dante had been right. He couldn't handle this on his own. Lady had told him he couldn't do it and Dante agreed but gave him the choice. They had been right. Dante had been right but that didn't mean that he couldn't start listening now right? Because, hell. He couldn't leave Thera with the old man. He'd probably sell her for cash to buy pizza.

Pure fury washed over him, whiting out the pleasure and he snarled. "Stupid old man!" And with this break in the lusty haze, his hand flung up and pistol whipped the mermaid to the ground and he pointed his bloody rose at her shocked face. He panted heavily, the sudden heat dulling and making him almost whimper, but he didn't. "Go to hell where you belong." He said his voice stone cold and she smiled at him before he pulled the trigger.

Blood and brain matter went everywhere as the bullets hit her in between the eyes. Nero watched her body fall back into the water and float there for a minute. Her body turning the water a sickly red color and he watched the body float to the bottom like a brick before turning away and leaving the room, banging the door shut with his foot before retreating to the bathroom where he went to clean himself up. Of course he wasn't going to touch his biggest problem, not when he kept reminding himself of who gave it to him. He knew it wasn't going anywhere any time soon, but that didn't mean he was going to do something completely disgusting like getting off when a rogue demon had given him the boner in the first place. So, he zipped his pants back up, wiped off the blood spatter and shook out his hair before exiting the bathroom and the building.

He watched people look at him walking from the building and to Dante's bike. The site of a teen covered in blood splatter and miscellaneous other things was quite a sight to see coming out of a fitness center, even if they had just been asked to evacuate some time before. He forced himself to ignore their stares as he got on his bike and waved to them.

"Pools safe." Was all he said and revved his bike before taking off at a near impossible speed. Little did he know that he had been in there longer then he thought. What seemed like minutes ended up being a good two hours. On the way home it began to rain. Pouring... freezing... rain... on top of the snow that was being thrown in his face from other cars. His day was just not going as he expected. But when did they ever? "Great, just what I need. Freezing, tight, wet boner pants. Thanks mother nature! Fucking love you too!" He yelled but it was lost behind him in the wind and sound of the engine.

To make this night even better? The bike ran out of gas. It slowed, and he pulled off to the side before getting off and kicking it, causing it to fall over and skid a few feet. Now it needed a new paint job. Nero felt like crying, but he didn't. He just screamed a few curses for only god knows how long before punching a light post with his devil bringer and picking up the bike, leaving the dangerously bent light post behind. He walked home from there, the pouring rain soaking everything on his person to the bone. It was time for a three hour walk back home.

Dante&Nero

Dante stretched and got up from his chair, walking by the window briefly before going into the kitchen to grab a beer. Nero's job had taken longer than usual and even after putting together the shelves and setting them up-by himself- Nero had still not returned home. He was starting to get a little worried about the kid. Usually, even with his bike still here, Nero only took a good five hours to finish up his job and be home. But now it was rounding five PM and he still wasn't home. It shouldn't have taken him a full seven extra hours to finish his job. Not to mention it had started to rain as soon as they got home.

Dante sighed as he sat down at his desk again. He pushed Ebony and Ivory to the side with his foot before propping both of his feet onto the ebony desk. The office was silent other than the sound of Dante's occasional page flips and sips of his beer. He had sent Kyrie out nearly five minutes ago to pay the water bill seeing as she had to have something to do while she waited for Nero. So she took the umbrella and her car before heading off to his tenant and paying the bill. Dante really had to thank Nero for all the money he was raking in. At some point all of his debts would be paid off. Maybe he would even stop having to mooch money off of the girls. He owed about three thousand to each of them. Although, they did have intuition on debts, which Dante was sure wasn't even fair considering you can only have intuition on something you need to buy, and that would probably ring them up about five hundred more on each of them. Plus the money they spent shooting him so many times...

'Damn I owe them a lot.' Dante thought to himself before he sighed and finished his beer before tossing the empty can onto his desk and standing up. 'If he doesn't get home soon, I'm gonna go out and find him.' He thought and just as he passed the pool table the doors swung open and in walked a completely drenched Nero. Dante blinked at him in surprise before smirking at him. "Welcome back kid, how'd it go?" He asked and Nero glared at him before shutting the door and moving towards the stairs, stripping his trench and hooded vest as he went.

"Great, bitch is dead. I'm going to sleep." He snapped and Dante's smirk grew into a grin.

"It just isn't your day is it?" He said Nero stopped at the bottom to look at him, making the mistake of turning fully to him and showing his hard on, weeping against his pants, at full attention. Dante whistled in appreciation. "Seems you had a little more trouble then I would've thought." He said and Nero growled at him before turning away and beginning to walk up the stairs.

"Shut up or die old man." Was his simple threat before he retreated to their room.

Dante simply sighed and gave him a concerned look before turning and picking up the giant mound of beer cans before throwing them away and going back into the office. He had only seen Nero that pissed when Dante himself was messing with him. Of course those were the days when Dante had nothing else to do and was bored out of his mind. Then he just got Nero a tad sexually frustrated before completely going "ass hole" mode on him and watching Nero's reaction from afar. This however; was a new level of pissed mixed with sexual frustration and a bit of self-proclaimed shame. He knew Nero was probably sulking on the inside too. He looked outside the window and through the window he was his bike, covered by the sheet and looked like one of the handles was bent oddly.

'He must have had a harder time then I thought. Maybe he wasn't ready for that mission. Thought it'd be fun as hell to see his reaction though...' Dante thought to himself before sighing and turning from the window.

He jotted down a quick note for Kyrie, setting it down on his desk, dead center so she would see before going upstairs and stopping in front of their room.

A/N: Sorry this is so short you guys. There was originally supposed to be a smut in the end but I had to take it down due to privacy issues and the rules on here. And I know it's people like me who are the reason the make the rules blah blah blah. Haha, Yeah I know. *grins* And I'm good at it.

Leave a review please!


	6. Birthday Boy

Note: The presents in this story were not seriously chosen. If any of you were offended by the choice of gift selection by the characters then I'm sorry, but I'm lazy.

Chapter 6: Birthday Boy

Two weeks passed from that night, Thera settled into Dante and Nero's place bit by bit and even Dante began to enjoy having Thera around. Kyrie had also left after the first week, seeing as Nero and Dante had come up with a system on how to deal with the child. After Kyrie had left Dante was in a much better mood. He stopped gluing himself to Nero whenever he could, he took more jobs and he played with Thera more. Thera herself seemed happy that Kyrie was gone. Although there really wasn't much of a change, she just seemed to cry a lot less, smile more and giggle more as well. That fluke from earlier that month with the teddy bear seemed a distant memory, Dante had nearly forgotten about it until Thera turned another of her toys into a disgusting color. Her white horse that Lady had given her when she came to visit was now a very gross dirt color. She had thrown it from her play pen an hour after Trish had given it to her, the toy completely turned a different color. Nero had found the toy in front of the television and brought it over to Lady who looked from Thera to the ruined toy before turning to Dante.

"What the hell did you do to it?" She asked and Dante threw his hands up, signaling that he had nothing to do with it.

"I had nothing to do with that. She's been doing that with toys she doesn't like." He explained and everyone looked to Thera who was happily chewing on her pacifier. "I think she might be like Nero and I." He explained and Nero turned to look at him in astonishment.

"You _think_ so? Old man, she can't even walk. How the hell is she able to do things like that?" Nero questioned and Dante shrugged.

"I only know that when I gave her toys like bears she turned them nasty colors and tossed them away." He propped his feet up on his desk which he was sitting in front of. "Just be glad she doesn't blow things up." He said and Nero rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but agree.

"If she did start blowing things up, we'd have a problem." He said and Lady nodded tossing the horse onto the couch before hopping up onto Dante's desk.

"Have you tried figuring out what type of demon she is?" Lady asked and Dante shook his head. "Why not?" He asked and Dante picked up a magazine.

"If we tried to do that now then it'd probably hurt her. Figuring things like that out aren't exactly painless you know. Either we wait and see what else she shows us and figure it out on our own, or we can do things the difficult way and make her cry." He said and began to read his magazine. Lady gave him a flat look before reaching over and snatching the magazine from his hands. "He-" Dante cut off sighing and looking at Lady with an irritated look. "Look I'll try and see what I can do without hurting her. I don't want you guys kickin' my ass for makin' an infant cry." He said and Nero rolled his eyes before taking Dante by the wrist and pulling him up from his chair. Dante almost fell over-still having his legs on the desk- but righted himself and stood up. "What?" Dante asked clearly confused by their actions.

"It's your birthday idiot. What do you think?" He asked and Dante blinked before closing his eyes and sighing.

"Seriously? You know I don't like celebrations." He said and Nero simply shrugged before dragging him outside and to their car. "Where are we going?" He asked now even more confused.

"You and I are going somewhere you'll love." Nero explained and almost threw Dante into the passenger seat before sliding over the hood of the car and getting in the driver's seat and closing the door. "And no asking questions. You'll know when we get there. You're lucky I didn't go with Ladies blind fold suggestion." He said and Dante made an odd face before looking out of the window when they began down the street.

Once Dante realised where they were headed Nero had a knowing smile on his face and Dante shook his head a small smile gracing his own features. He watched silently as they turned into his favourite diner, pulling into the spot designated for them, seeing as it was the only space left.

"Why the hell is there so many cars here?" Dante asked and Nero just smirked before exiting the car and shutting the door behind him. Confused, Dante got out of the car, closing the door behind him before following the retreating Nero into the diner. All of his scenses were put on overdrive when party poppers sounded and people jumped out from all over the place.

"Surprise!" Yelled all the people in the diner. Dante's eyes widened as he looked at all the people of his past. Nearly every single person (That was still alive mind you.) that he had met during his biggest jobs was there. His eyes scanned the group before a grin spread on his face.

"Well damn, at least you guys know how to throw one helluva party!" He said as everyone came up to him, throwing there arms around his shoulders, hugging him, or even punching him in the shoulder in greeting.

Trish walked through the door as everyone was settling down around the diner, there own conversations starting as Dante sat down at the bar and stroke up a conversation with an old information broker that he had long lost contact with. She smirked over at him before walking over and nodding to Nero who was sitting to the other side of Dante. He nodded back.

"How's it going Trish?" He asked and she shrugged before nudging Dante in the side with her elbow. He turned to her, his wide smirk widening as he saw her.

"Well, well, decided to show up this time and _not _pester me about my debts?" He asked and she shrugged.

"Don't expect me to forget about them forever. I'm dropping by before I head out to another job. Wanted to drop this off." She explained and tossed a box with black wrapping paper and a red satin bow at him. He caught it and from across the room he heard someone yell, 'Present time!' and he couldn't help but think of how childish it sounded.

"So you gonna stay and watch my face light up like christmas lights when I open it?" He said sarcastically Trish folded her arms before her whole demeanor showed the scorn she felt.

"If you're going to say it like that then no." She said before turning and beginning to walk away.

"Hey come on Trish. Don't be bitchy. You know how I am." He said and she smirked before turning.

"Then get all of your debts in on time." She said and he gave her a defeated look.

"I'll put it on my agenda." He said before triwling the box on his finger. "Now lets see what jack is in _this _box." He said before untieing the ribbon and tearing the wrapping paper open.

He popped the unlabeled box open and peeked inside the box before he broke out in laughter. The whole diner looked at him in wonder before he took out some black steel hand cuffs with white fur.

"I'd say you know me so well Trish, but hell." He laughed some more before looking at her with an amused face. "What the hell?" He finally said and She simply shrugged with her hands up and turned from him.

"Don't tell me you won't use them." She said and Dante chuckled once more before dropping the cuffs into the box, shutting it and tossing it onto the bar. "Have fun." And he wasn't sure whether she meant the party or what he would later be doing with the... er, wonderful present she had just given him. He shook his head either way and watched her retreat through the exit of the diner.

"Woman's gotta think I'm insane enough to even think of using something so..." and then he caught himself before he finished his nearly embarressing sentence in his head. 'flimsy... Nero'd just break through the damn things... or the bed...' He thought before shrugging and watched as others walked up and handed him presents.

The first gift after Trishes was a new guitar. The guitar was a custom painted Minarik Tone Medusa with Dante's shop name painted in the neck of the guitar. He had nearly grinned his fool head off when he actually saw what it was. The next thing was from the little blonde and blue eyes princess that he had posed as a body gaurd in the past for. He recieved a can of sword cleaner. He smirked at her and ruffeled her hair when she told him that she had worked to get the money. The little girl wasn't that young anymore, at the ripe age of fifteen. The next present was from Rose, the daughter of the pizza shop owner down the street from where Dante and Nero lived. She had bought him a pair of new boots. Steal toed and heavy duty for battle. He got up and hugged her quickly before sitting back down and glancing over at Nero to see him pursing his lips and looking in the other direction, his chin in the palm of his hand which was leaning on the bar. He smirked at him. Then Jerry walked up and gave him a thinly wrapped gift. Dante looked up at him before leaning back.

"What's it gonna be this year Jer?" He asked and Jerry sniffed before shrugging and waiting for Dante to open the gift. Dante opened it, looking at the card before he gave out a barking laugh. "Damn Jer, if I knew you cared that much I wouldv'e paid my tabs more often." He said as he waved a tune up card for the nearest autorepair shop. Jerry just gave him a smug grin before punching him in the shoulder.

"Happy birthday kid." He said and Dante rolled his eyes at the 'kid' comment before setting down the card and taking the next gift that was given to him from his info broker. He unwrapped a bunch of dirty magazines and his smirk grew into a dark grin before he nudged his friend and waggled his eye brow at him.

"How'd you manage to get these issues Dame?" He asked. The info broker -his name actually being Dameon- sighed at the nickname and shook his head.

"Work, that's all I gotta say." He said and Dante placed the magazines on the bar, covering them with the other presents he could and took the last present that was handed to him. Nero's...

"Don't expect a ring or anything. Perverted old man." Nero said simply as Dante ripped the package open.

"Wouldn't with the size of the box. Though I wouldn't mind finding a giant-" Dante was cut off as Nero elbowed him in the shoulder. "Yeah yeah, PG while there's kids around." He said and Patty frowned in the background. When the wrapping was finally off Dante popped the top off of the sealed box and his eyes scanned the contents before a calm smile spread over his face. "Kid..." He said placing the box down before he got off of the stool and took Nero's hand, pulling him forward from his chair. Nero gasped before he found his head locked in Dante's arm and his head being ground into by Dante's knuckles.

"What the- Old man- What the hell?! Let- go! That hurts!" He said before Dante let go and wrapped his arms around Nero, pulling him close into a hug. Nero's face filled with red as he blushed hard before he was pulled up and he squeeked as his reflexes kicked in and he straddled Dante's waist. "Dante!" He hissed in a whisper before Dante grinned at him.

"Kid, you have no idea how happy that makes me." He said before Nero pushed him away, the younger's eyes scanning the staring croud.

"I-idiot..." He said before blushing and looking at the ground. "You're welcome..." He muttered before walking back to his chair. Then he went back to looking at the various brands of vodka and wiskey, the blush still evident on his face. Dante shook his head at the other before sitting down again and thumping his fist down onto the bar.

"Hey jim, how 'bout we start a round of drinks?" He called and all of the adults cheered. Patty just rolled her eyes and sipped her mountain dew. Music started in the diners speakers and the evening began.

The paty continues way into the night. By the time midnight came around half of the partiers were already gone and many were departing for the night. The music beat steady rythms from the speakers as the rest of the small group winded down. They sat in their respective places, some at the bar, some at tables playing poker or black jack, others were standing at the so called 'dance floor' which was only a cleared space with some strobe lights and lazers. That part was blocked off so the other party goers could calmly mingle in the other three fourths of the diner-turned-club. Dante and Nero however were huddled together in a booth aways away from all the fun and commotion, talking and just enjoying each other's prescence while Dante consumed massive amounts of Strawberry sunday's. One nearly everyone had gone home it was around four in the morning.

"You're gonna get fat old man." Nero commented once Dante had begun his seventh sunday.

"Hey I have a high metabalism you know." Dante rebuttled and Nero just shook his head before snatching a spoonful from Dante's sunday and popping the spoon into his mouth before Dante could reach out to stop him.

"Hey!" Dante complained as Nero smirked at him and licked his lips. Dante took Nero's wrist in his hand and pulled the half devil forward into a hungry kiss. Nero's eyes widened as Dante's lips moved on his own, his body naturally moving along with the motion before his eyes dropped closed and he pushed back against Dante's lips. Their mouths opened, exploring each others mouths and fighting for dominance. Nero made a pleased sound when Dante finally won and started memorizing every crevice inside his mouth. When they finally pulled back Nero was panting with a pleased smile on his face while Dante was licking his lips. "There. I think I got most of it back." He said and Nero rolled his eyes, a light blush covering his cheeks. He reached up and scratched the side of his nose to hide it.

"Stupid perverted old man." He grumbled before he heard someone walking up behind them.

"Hey you two love birds!" Someone with a low voice called. Nero turned around to see Jerry walking up.

"Heading home?" Nero asked and Jerry nodded.

"Rose's got a kid to take care of and I've gotta set up the shop for tomorrow." He explained and Nero rose from his chair followed by Dante. They all shook hands before Jerry and Rose left, already talking about how their night had gone. Nero shook his head at the two retreating figures and before he had the chance to sit back down Dante grabbed him by the waist and pulled him down to the dance floor.

"Dante, what are you doing?" Nero asked and Dante smirked before he began dancing. "You're serious?" Nero asked and Dante nodded before grabbing the other's hips and made him dance.

"We're the only ones here now. Might as well make the best of it." Dannte simply said before Nero finally sighed and began to dance with him. Their hips swayed together and Dante ground them together lightly before Nero brought his eyes up to meet the other's.

There eyes met and gazed heatedly into the others. If it wasn't for the fact they were out and both of them were beginning to feel the effect of lack of sleep, they would have likely jumped each other. Nero put his hand around Dante's neck and promptly ground his hips into Dante's in a sweet swaying motion, making Dante's eyes roll back into his head and his hands on Nero's waist to tighten there hold. Nero slid his hands down from Dante's neck to his clothed chest, where he kept them, swaying his hips back and forth to the hypnotic beat, feeling the base reverebrate with his own heart. He loved this feeling; the feeling of the both of them wrapped in the music where no one could get to them, how he could tease Dante back for all of the teasing he had giving the younger in return, and the sad fact was; If he wasn't with Dante now, he sure as hell wouldn't have been dancing liike this with anyone else. He was practically using Dante as his own personal stripper pole, but at least he wasn't hanging on him. That would have been a sight, he was sure of it.

Nero rubbed his hand down Dante's chest and back up, repeating the motion in time with the music and his undulating hips. After a few minutes-which ended up being a full hour- of dancing, Dante grinned down at him before he took his hold on Nero's waist and pulled Nero up, making the other wrap his legs around his waist and wrap wrap his arms around Dante's neck.

"Are we still dancing or is this some type of new plan to seduce me?" Nero asked and Dante chuckled.

"Only if you want it to be kid." Dante said and Nero let out a small laugh before bending his head down to kiss Dante on the lips. When they parted Dante tipped his head up and leaned it against Nero's. "Thanks for the present kid. I'll try not to use them all at once." He said winking at the now blushing young adult before him.

Dante let Nero down, taking his hand in his own before leading the still blushing half demon across the dance floor and over to the bar. They both sat down, watching the bar tender walk over with a small small, looking a tad tired himself.

"Having a few more drinks before you head out?" The man asked and Dante nodded. "I'll make you two some special ones." He said before disappearing into the back. Dante looked at his retreating figure in wonder before shrugging and turning to Nero, who was looking at the now empty space behind the bar.

"So I'm guessing you left Lady with Thera for the party?" He asked and Nero glanced over at the exit before looking back at him and nodding. "And she's not going to give me a present? The hell's with that woman?" He asked a little hurt even though his demeanor showed his indifference. Nero chuckled.

"She was going to subtract half of the money you owed her from your growing debt but since I already paid that off, she had to go buy you something. She has it back at the shop." He explained and Dante rolled his eyes but nodded.

The bar tender came out of the back holding two drinks. One was a chilled blue color and the other was a bright cherry red. He set the red one in front of Dante and the blue in front of Nero before grinning at them.

"The last drink of the night. A Frappe Ramal 5 for the birthday boy and a Toxic Love for the other." He said and nodded to both of them before turning and walking to the kitchen door. "Whe you two are done just leave the glasses on the bar. I'll get them later." He finished before walking through the door. Dante smirked at the man's back before picking up his drink and turning to Nero.

"Well kid, to another year of being together?" He asked and Nero picked up his drink.

"Another year of hell with you?" He asked before chuckling. "Why not? It's better then the rest of hell." He said before they tapped their glasses together and drank from them.

DantexNero

Dante closed the driver's side door to his car and stretched. After they had finished theit drinks they had headed home, silently listening to the music and loving each other's presence. Nero shut the door from the other side, walking along side the taller demon hunter as they made their way inside the warm building that was their home.

When they entered Devil May Cry they saw Lady bummed out on the couch, her head hanging off the side of the couch along with one of her arms. Nero giggled at the way she was lying as he took off his coat to hang on the coat rack. Dante on the other hand walked right over to her and nudged her in the head with his foot.

"Lady, come on, up." He said in a loud voice and nudged her in the head again. She stirred, her eyes opening before she realised who was in front of her and sat up, swaying slightly as she did.

"ugh, I feel like I slept upside down for hours." She said and the two men only glanced at each other before one smiled and the other smirked.

"Well you at least got some sleep." Dante complained rubbing his shoulder with his hand. "The kid kept me up all night." He complained and Lady rolled her eyes before standing.

"Don't complain. It's not like you didn't enjoy it, judging from the cheesy grin on your face and the alcohol on your breath." She said almost in a scolding way. Dante threw himself into his chair and sighed.

"Come on Lady, Trish already yelled at me." He sounded like he was pleading but the other two in the room knew that he wasn't. Nero shook his head and turned to Lady.

"Do you want to give him his present before you head home?" He asked and Lady shrugged but walked over to his desk setting a cherry red wrapped box with a white bow wrapped around it on his desk.

"Have fun opening it. Don't come bitching to me if you don't like it." She said before turning and walking across the room to the coat rack where she grabbed her coat.

"Not staying before I open it?" Dante asked and Lady simply waved and eited the building, leaving the nearly silent room to the quiet ringing of her boots on the concrete. "Let's see just what she got me." Dante said picking up the gift, taking his time to lightly shake it, tapping it and even smelling it.

"If it explodes while you're opening it I'm gonna laugh." Nero said grinning down at him.

"If it explodes whle I'm opening it then you're gonna be too busy being blown up to laugh." Dante said almost seriously but Nero could see the hint of a smirk there as Dante deemed the present safe to open and promptly began to rip the wrapping paper off, uncovering its contents.

The box underneath relealed the brand name LOVERS. At this a light blush scattered across Dante's face before he grinned and opened the box. Slowly he pulled out various toys some of them not even he had seen before. Nero was beyond words as he witnessed what could have only been the most hungry look in history pass over Dante's face when he glanced at the younger devil. His face was nearly tomato red-he was sure of this because he was nearly ready to pass out from the heat- at all the objects he had pulled out. He was going to have to beat the crap out of lady later. He wasn't going to be able to sleep for the next few weeks.

"You're not using those." Nero said and Dante pouted at his voice.

"Just for-" Nero growled at him before he could finish. "Fine. Be that way. And I was going to let you top." He said and Nero blushed at the comment, his body reacting to the statement even though he didn't want it to.

"Lady was stupid for giving those to you." Nero grumbled before turning for the stairs. He grabbed the baby monitor on the desk before making his way toward the steps. "I'm going to check on Thera before going to bed. If you even _think_ of touching me while I'm asleep i'll make sure your arms are ditatched from your body so you won't be able to anymore." Nero said maybe a little bit too angrily before going upstairs. Dante blinked at the retreating form before looking back at the box.

He should have felt a little guilty at finding all of Lady's presents amusing but he didn't. He had too much pride for that. He did though, have enough sense to feel guilty at making his lover angry. Even if he wasn't quite sure how he had managed to do it. So, he took all of the toys and shoved them into the box, opening the bottom drawer of his desk and dumping them in before shutting it again. Sighing he stretched before making his was upstairs, walking down the nearly silent hallway, only the quiet rustling coming from Thera's room being any indication that Nero hadn't gone to bed yet. He needed to apologies, the right way.

DantexNero

Just before Thera turned a full one year old she began walking. She had pulled herself up by the side of the couch and took her first full step without either of the parent's help. Dante had been sitting at his desk, taking apart ebony so he could clean her before he saw the toddler casually walking across the office. He had nearly fell out of his chair and called for Nero who was in the kitchen at the time getting something to drink. Nero had ran out of the kitchen so fast it startled Thera who had just managed to get to the middle of the room, making the poor child stumble back and fall to the ground.

"She was walking!?" Nero asked as he went to consol the crying child. Dante nodded.

"Walking like she had been doing it for years." He said and Nero looked down at the eleven month old infant.

"Well her first birthday is in three days. It's no surprise she started walking now." He explained picking the whimpering child up.

Suddenly like a bolt of lightening had hit him Nero jolted, nearly dropping Thera as he cried out and stumbled back. Dante shot up from his chair, thinking better of jumping over it and just walking around before making his way over to Nero. Nero carefully put Thera on the ground, setting her on her feet before clambering back and sitting on the floor. Dante knelt down next to him, looking at him in concern.

"What's wrong?" Dante asked as Nero pulled down his shirt collar to reveal a small bite mark. "Thera did that?" He asked and Nero nodded.

"I think she might have been angry that I picked her up..." He said and rubbed the nearly bleeding bite mark. "Damn, for a small baby she sure has some sharp teeth." nero muttered pulling his shirt back into place before he rubbed it again.

"Well it's no wonder. She nearly has all of her teeth and she's not even one." Dante said clambering to his feet before looking at where Thera had managed to get to. She was now sitting in front of her blocks, playing with them and banging them together. He looked at Nero again who was getting to his feet.

"That surprised me. I wasn't expecting her to bite me." He said mostly to himself. "Dante would you figure out what type of demon she is? We don't need to be sending her to preschool and have her biting people or making things turn fugly colors." He said and turned to Dante. The one in question nodded, pecking Nero on the lips.

"Yeah, sure thing kid." He said and Nero glared at him for the nickname.


	7. Preschool

Regular Font: Present

_Italisized Font: Past_

Chapter 7: Preschool

By the time Thera had reached the age of four Dante and Nero were at wits end. She started to talk in full sentences a year and a half ago and because of this they wondered if she was going to be one of those genuises. Lady inquired that, because one of her parents was a demon, she was going to have a running start in more then one category of smart.

_"And a lot of stupid." Nero added looking at Dante accusingly. Dante merely whistled before going back to his magazine._

Dante had managed to gifure out what type of demon she was. Through many stressful tests that ended with nearly both the child and the parent in tears-Dante from all of the bite marks though. You could make minced meat out of a normal human with the amount of times she bit him- and the results were perplexing to say the least. Or rather, Nero was the one completely confused.

_"I thought he was just bones." Nero resented and Dante shook his head._

_ "The guy was as alive as any other demon in the demon world. Skin and all. He just worked under the giant hood so they wouldn't see him." Dante explained as Nero looked down at Thera-who was a year and a half at the time they had figured this out- before turning back to Dante and sighing. _

_ "It explains the color of her eyes." He said and Dante explained._

_ "The grim reaper had that color of eyes." Dante said shrugging. "Must have been the other reason he didn't want people to see what he really looked like." He joked before sitting back in his desk, putting his arms behind his head._

So now, they had to teach the girl how to _not_ use her powers. In public that is. She could use them at home, as long as she didn't suck the life from her parents or visitors. She could drain the color from all of the stuffed animals she wanted if it didn't hurt any humans.

"So, I can't bite anyone?" Thera asked, her adorably feminine voice a little saddened.

Thera's hair had grown out and was not a wonderfully bleach- white color. The blonde had been drained from it and she now dawned a beautifuly silver head of hair that reached her butt. She had it braided-courtesy of Trish- over her shoulder and had a pretty sky blue ribbon tied at the end. Her purple eyes hadn't changed a bit but her face had thinned out now that she had lost some of her baby fat. She had sky rocketed in height and was about a half an inch too tall to be a four year old. Dante and Nero had been worried about that but didn't show it, thinking that she might stop growing to prevent any odd glances.

Her wardrobe had been finished a while ago, now filled with jeans and lots of T-shirts. The occasional dress was thrown in but was usually a dark strawberry or burn orange color. The only pink clothing she owned was one tank top that was an electric pink color with black stripes. Her room had been painted as well, now donning a deep blue like the night with small stars which glowed when shone in a black light. All together, they had her completely knitted into their personal lives. They weren't unhappy about it either.

"No Thera, you can't bite people. We don't want you to hurt your friends or even people you don't like." Nero scolded and Thera looked down at the floor.

"But I can push them right?" She asked half heartedly and Nero sighed. Dante let out an amused half chuckle.

"Face it kid, she's just not ready for kindergarden yet." Dante concluded and Nero glanced at him before Thera gowled and stamped her foot.

"I am too! I'm four years old! Daddy say that's old enough!" Thera shouted and Nero hushed her. "You barely let me out of the house." Thera said as her eyes welled with tears. Nero shushed her and kneeled down to stroke her back.

"If you keep better control over your powers and keep your hands to yourself then you can go outside." Nero stated and Thera sniffled.

"I- I know... but people are always mean to me because of my hair and eyes..." She said and Nero put his hands on her shoulders before looking at her eyes.

"Your eyes and hair are very pretty. Their just not used to seeing them." Nero and Thera sniffled before nodding and wiping her eyes. She gave a curt nod before Nero hugged her again. "Now will you promise to behave yourself if I take you to school?" He asked and Thera nodded.

"I promise." She said in a quiet voice and Nero patted her head before letting go and standing up.

"Okay, go on and get your clothes on and we'll leave." He said and she nodded, her happy grin back on her small face.

As she scampered up the steps Nero walked over to Dante's desk and leaned down, resting his forearms against the dark abony wood. He sighed, hanging his head limply before looking up at Dante and smiling. Dante was looking at him with an observant eye that Nero knew wouldn't be looking anywhere but at him for the next five minutes.

"Four years already and she's just now understanding that she can't purposely kill people. Somehow I feel like that girl is more hard headed then you." He stated and Dante rolled his eyes smirking.

"That just means you have a PMSing version of me to deal with." Dante said slyly, smirking evily at the way Nero's face went blank for a second before it turned into a defeated look.

"Dealing with the regular you isn't that hard. But she's going to be a handful." He said and stood up, running his hand through his hair before turning and heading to the kitchen. "I need food before we leave." He declared before entering the kitchen.

The kitchen had been updated, now donning new hardware and appliances. The doors on the cabinets had been switched out and the washer and drier had been upgraded to comething bigger. They now had a kitchen table that they made Thera eat at every morning with them. It had felt really odd when they actually had to start opening later because of it. The office hours had definately been hindered because of it.

Nero reached into the fridge, pulling out left-overs from the night before, before putting it on a plate and popping it in the microwave. They had eaten salmon the night before and Dante and Nero had worked together for their first real meal since Thera had turned four. They had only been eating pizza and caned food before. But since Thera was starting school they needed to send lunch with her. Why not start early and learn how to cook by making dinner? Of course they had the help of the lovely Kyrie, who had taught them from the nitty gritty. Or as most would say, how to _not_ burn things when cooking them on an electric stove. It had taken them a good year to get things right and finally make a decent meal. Of course they weren't chefs but it was edible and flavourful.

The Microwave dinged, telling Nero that the fish was done cooking before he popped the door open, extracted the food, and grabbed a fork from the drawer, heading out into the office again.

"Last nights dinner?" Dante asked as Nero entered the room. Nero nodded, eating a large peice of warm fishy goodness. Thera came running down the stairs dressed in a tan tank top and grey jeans with little white tennis shoes. She ran over to Dante holding up a brush causing Dante to look down from shining rebellion. "Want me to brush it?" He asked and she nodded, smiling broadly. "Okay, come here." He said setting down the cloth he was holding before picking Thera up and setting her on his lap. She giggled when she was picked up and squirms.

"That tickles papa." She said and Dante couldn't help but smile. The fact that she called Nero Daddy and himself papa was something that would surely confuse the girl when she got older, or other people. He wasn't sure at the moment.

"Okay, take out the braid. I can't brush it when it's on one giant knot." He said fighting the urge to nonchallantly use swear words. He was trying to work against it since she had started to talk. She had run into the room one day asking what a whore was. And well, they tried there best at trying to lower the cussing in the house. She took out the hair tie in her hair and shook out her hair, making the braid come loose and her hair fell onto Dante's lap. Dante whistled. "How about we get you a hair cut sometime?" Dante asked and Thera looked back at him as he started to brush her hair.

"Why? I like my hair this long." She asked and Dante looked over at Nero who was happily eating food on the couch and clearly trying to ignore their conversation so he didn't get pulled into it. He knew Dante and the child needed time to themselves.

" Because your hair'll get split ends and start standing on end." He said saying the same thing Lady had said to him while she was lecturing him about it one morning while she was brushing Thera's hair. "Plus it's harder to brush when it's this long." He said accidentally catching the brush on a knot. Thera in turn whimpered at the pain. "See? I told you." He said and she crossed her arms against the pain.

"I don't care, I like it this long." She said and Dante sighed.

"Fine then, we'll go get it trimmed." Dante said and Thera blinked at him in question. "Just cutting off the very end so it'll be even." He explained and she nodded, still slightly confused but knowing that it wasn't going to get cut short. He put the brush down took the hair tie from her and put her hair in a pony tail high on her head before throwing it over her shoulder. "There all done." He said patting her back making her hop down. Nero placed the dish on the table and got up.

"Well if you put that in the kitchen then I'll get going." He said and Dante nodded, going back to what he was doing.

"Have fun at your first day of school princess." Dante said as he stroked the cloth up rebellions blade. Nero shook his head with a smile at the new nick name he had given Thera before walking over the the girl and taking her hand.

"Let's go." Nero said and Thera smiled so big it looked like it hurt.

"Yeah!" Thera exclaimed before they headed for the door.

DantexNero

Nero pulled up to the preschool and into a parking space, glancing at Thera who looked a little nervous. He smiled and unbuckled his seat belt before getting out and walking over to the other side of the car and opening the door to the back seat, unbuckling Thera from her carseat.

"Ready?" He said holding out his hand and Thera gave a small frown before looking at her father's eyes.

"What if they make fun of me?" She asked and Nero smiled sadly.

"Just remember that people will love you for who you are, not what you look like. Just be nice, even if they make fun of you. There's no need to stick up for yourself by yelling at them because that won't change who you are." Nero explained remembering how he was when he was young. Thera nodded, feeling a little better before taking Nero's hand and getting out of the car.

Nero shut the door before walking to the enterence of the preschool, watching all of the other kids walking in with their parents. Thera was skipping happily beside him and humming nonsense to herself as they entered the preschool following the parents to the information desk. The line was a few people long, seeing as they got their early. Nero was right when he thought Thera was going to be tall for her age. She was a good inch taller than all of the other kids around her. As the line grew he knew she was going to be one of the tallest kids in her class. Hopefully she wouldn't get bullied _too_ bad. He knew she was strong but she was also a sheltered girl. She hadn't been out of the house since she was a one-year-old unless it was for just picking up a pizza or going grocery shopping. She wasn't aloud to go to the parks to play or be around other children until this year because of the fear that she might suck the life out of the children. Dante and Nero really didn't feel like being sued. Especially when they could potentially have child services take away Thera.

So he hoped she had enough social skills not to be too terribly timid around the other kids. Seeing Thera around the house demanding things of them like she was the queen made him think that she wouldn't be, but on the way to the school she had showed him a completely different side of herself. How could such a small girl be so self consious? He shrugged it off, stepping forward as the line proceeded to get shorter.

Thera turned around, glancing back at a small girl with jet black hair and jade green eyes. She had olive colored skin and a shy look about her that made Thera want to reach out and hug her. Then the doubt set in again and she quickly turned back around. What if the girl saw her eyes and didn't like them? What if she thought Thera was scary? Throughout the time she had spent outside she had observed everything with keen interest. And with that observation she concluded that herself and her two daddy's were the only ones that had white hair. But she was the only one in the whole world that had purple eyes. So it wouldn't be surprising if they thought she was wierd.

Again she glanced back and saw the girl looking at her, surprised she jumped slightly and turned around again. This made the little girl behind her giggle and in return she turned back around and saw the girl smiling at her.

"Hi." The girl said quietly. Thera blinked in surprise and when Thera didn't answer the girl went on. "Your eyes are really pretty." She complimented and this caused a light blush to sprinkle over Thera's delicately pale skin. Thera smiled a little bit and nodded her head.

"Thank you. Your skin is really pretty." She said and downcast her eyes when she saw the girl giggle.

"Oh, thank you. No one says that but mommy and daddy." She said and Thera blinked in shock before she smiled, clearly having an instant attraction to the girl.

"My daddies say the same thing." She said quietly and the girl looked at her in wonder.

"Daddies? You have more than one daddy?" She asked and Thera blushed thinking she had said something wrong. She glaned up at her daddy who was smiling down at her nodding silently. Then she turned to the girl again and smiled really big.

"Yeah." She said confidently. The girl smiled a little bigger.

"You don't have a mommy?" The little girl asked. Thera looked down and shook her head.

"I did but papa said that momma went on a long trip and couldn't take me with her." She said and the girl nodded slightly confused.

"I'm sorry, I hope she comes back soon!" The little girl said smiling big and Thera nodded.

"Yeah!" She said and looked up at her daddy who had a blank expression on his face and looking at the back of the woman's head in front of him. She wondered if he was thinking really hard again, because he did that a lot when he was thinking really hard. Then she turned back to the little girl. "So what are your mommy and daddy like?" Thera asked and the little girl grinned.

"Mommy is so funny and she always tries to make everything we do really fun! She couldn't take me today because she had to work, but daddy brought me here!" She exclaimed looking up at her father who had similar features but somewhat tanner skin then the olive color of his daughter. "They both love me so much!" She said finally and Thera smiled too.

They took a step forward again and Thera and the little girl were dragged forward by their parents. Thera smiled at the little girl and messed with the end of her tank top.

"So um, what's your name?" Thera asked and the girl giggled.

"My name's Eleni. What's yours?" She asked and Thera paused before smiling to herself and looking at her new friend in the eyes.

"My names Thera." She said and Eleni let go of her father's hand so she could hug Thera. The poor silver haired child was so shocked she didn't move. Until her father nudged her side that is. Then she smiled so big she felt the whole room being light up. She had found her first friend. "Can we be friends?" She asked brightly and the little girl chuckled nodding into Thera's shoulder.

"Yeah, we can be friends." Eleni said and Thera finally hugged back. Nero looked at the two before looking at Eleni's father who was looking at him.

"My daughter doesn't get outside much because she used to be sick when she was younger. I'm glad she's getting along with someone her age so well." Nero explained to him and the older man nodded.

"My daughter has always been too shy to make very many friends. So this is one of her first friends as well." He explained and Nero knew that Eleni was going to be good for Thera.

DantexNero

Once Nero had gotten the small map made for the building he turned to bring her to her classroom. There was three main rooms and a few separate classrooms for arts and crafts and even a playground for recess. Thera demanded that they wait for Eleni to get her teachers name before they go anywhere so they could compare and Nero laughed before standing off to the side to wait for the two others.

"Miss Eleni Anthes, your teacher is going to be Misses Hopper." The lady at the desk said brightly smiling over at Thera as well. Thera's eyes brightened at the name of her teacher and she jumped up and down.

"Eleni we're in the same class!" She exclaimed excitedly and Eleni came over and jumped up and down with her.

Nero walked Thera over to her classroom where the two girl immidiately ran in together, Thera's long ponytail trailing behind her. They met their new teacher who was a young woman about Nero's age (Aka: They're both around 23.) and had a sweet baby face and curly brown hair. Her eyes were a bright shade of auqa and she wore a knee length floral skirt with a V-neck grey shirt. The complete young hotness didn't even register to Nero's devil driven mind. It was only focused on one thing. 'Get back to your lover.' and that's about all it thought about while Nero was taking his daughter to school. Sometimes he'd even call his devil side a 'sex driven monster' because he and Dante could go all night and his devil would still want more in the morning.

Shaking his thoughts from his head he headed inside to meet the teacher. Once she had sent the kids on their way to go visit with the other children She turned to Nero with a smile.

"Hello, I'm Misses Hopper." She said holding out her hand. "It's nice to meet you." She greeted with a smile. Nero took her hand with his human hand-the other being covered by his coat and glove- and shook lightly.

"Same to you. My name is Nero." He greeted and She tipped her head to the side.

"Nero...?" She seemed to be looking for a last name and he shook his head before putting his hand in his pocket.

"Just Nero." He said and she nodded.

"Okay, well Nero. I'm sure Thera will have a wonderful time here. She seems like a wonderful girl." She said and Nero nodded.

"She has a good heart but she can be a bit bossy sometimes. We usually just laugh it off and tell her no to whatever she can't have. She understands pretty well." Nero explained and Misses Hopper nodded knowingly.

"Okay, well I'll look out for it. There's other parent's to talk to before the day starts, so I better be going." She explained and went to talk to the other parents. Nero sighed and walked over to Thera who was playing with Eleni and a young boy who had blonde hair and blue eyes. Thera turned when she saw her father and ran up to him.

"Hey daddy, this is Jimmy, he's gonna play with us too!" She said happily and Nero nodded kneeling down.

"That's great honey. I have to go now, but Eleni will keep you company. I'll be back to pick you up okay?" He asked and she nodded, a bit sad but understanding. "And I don't want to get a phone call saying you bit someone okay?" He whispered and she nodded more confident.

"I promise I won't!" She said and he smiled hugging her. She wrapped her tiny arms around his big frame to hug him.

"Good." He said pulling back and pushing back her bangs before gently kissing her on the forehead. "I'll be back." He said gently and she nodded happily before skipping back to her friends. Nero stood up, turning around and catching the heartfelt looks from the parents before casting his eyes to the side with a light blush. He reached up to scratch the side of his nose to hide it before making his way to the door and beginning his trip home.

Quote of the week: "Try to learn something about everything and everything about something" - Thomas Huxley


	8. Monster

Chapter 8: Monster!

Thera was settling into the class like any other child. Throughout the day they learned a series of things at eight different places. One was story time. Where they learned how to communicate with others through the eye of fictional characters. Next was the puzzle table, where children played with Lego's blocks, and marbles to practice their fine motor skills, concentration and hand-eye coordination. After that is the sand/water table, where they play and practice science concepts like cause and effect. Then we have science projects, which they more or less have a class pet and observer the habits of living things. Then circle time which teaches the child to sit patiently, saying good morning, and talking about the day's events. Then art area; which most already know what that's for. Then block area where they build things and practice their comprehension, distinguishing, and mathematic skills. Last was recess, where all the activity helps kids learn what their bodies can do. Children need to move and experiment to master balance, improve coordination, and develop their muscles. Group activities on the playground also teach kids cooperation.

Thera was currently playing by the swings, pushing Eleni on one of the swings and watching her soar through the air. Recess had started a while ago and when they had gotten bored of hopscotch and foursquare they had run over to the swings. Luckily one of them had been open, seeing as there were only three swings and two of them were taken, Thera had been nice enough to offer the swing to Eleni. Thera giggled as Eleni came back at her and she gave a shove, accidently pushing a little too hard. Eleni's hands slipped loose from the chains of the swing and went flying from the seat. She went tumbling to the ground, her hair flying around her before she stopped in a heap on the wood chips in front of the swings. Thera's eyes widened and she ran over to her friend, dropping to her knees and hesitantly reaching down to the injured girl.

"Eleni!" She yelled. "I'm sorry, I'm _sorry_." She said as her friend sat up, Eleni's eyes filled with tears. "Are you okay? I promise I won't push you on the swing anymore!" She said and Eleni started to cry.

"That- that really hurt!" Eleni sobbed as Mrs. Hopper came over and knelt next to the two before other kids came over to watch.

"What happened here?" The teacher asked looking at Eleni, her body perfectly fine with no scratch marks or anything.

"Thera pushed me off the swing!" She wailed and scrubbed the tears from her eyes. The teacher looked at Thera surprised.

"Is that true Thera?" She asked and Thera looked down.

"Yes, but I didn't mean to..." She muttered, her face turned to the ground. One of the kids behind her scoffed and she turned around, startled but the kids just looked at her with angry faces. Her eyes filled with unshed tears, looking back at the teacher so she didn't break down from all of the stares. "I was pushing her to make her go up higher but I pushed too hard. Teacher I'm sorry! I really didn't mean to..." She said as her own eyes welled with tears. Eleni's sobs had quieted down to whimpers but she was still crying. Mrs. Hopper frowned, not sure who she should comfort. They both were pretty banged up about it.

"Even if it was an accident Thera you still hurt her. You need to say sorry." She stated and Thera looked her teacher in the eyes.

"But I said sorry as soon as she fell." She looked at her friend again for a moment before she started to cry more. "I'm sorry Eleni, I'm sorry. I promise I won't push you on the swings anymore." Thera choked out and Mrs. Hopper rubbed her back.

"You can still push her if she wants to be pushed on the swing but be careful. You don't want to hurt anyone." She said and Thera nodded but kept crying. She felt like she had done the worst thing possible.

She had hurt one of her friends when her daddies told her not to. They told her not to hurt anyone even if she disliked them and she had anyway. Now her daddies would be mad at her. They would punish her. She was sad for not following the rules and even sadder that she had hurt one of her first friends.

"Papa's going to be mad..." She whimpered and Mrs. Hopper smiled and hugged the child.

"I'll explain everything to papa so he won't be mad." The teacher said and Thera sniffled, her crying slowed.

"Really?" She asked and Mrs. Hopper smiled before nodding. Then all the kids went back to playing and Eleni got up from the ground to hug Thera.

"It's okay Thera. It hurt but I'm okay." She said and smiled broadly to her friend. "Do you want to swing next?" She asked and Thera's eyes sparkled before she nodded.

"Mhm!" She exclaimed and they turned to the swings. When they turned one of the other children had taken it. He was swinging happily on it and humming to himself, his eyes closed so he couldn't see the two girls in front of him.

"Hey! We were using that!" Eleni exclaimed angrily.

The boy heard Eleni in all of her raging glory he opened his eyes, looking at her blankly. They looked cold, his gold eyes almost emotionless as they stared at her from under dark hair. His hair was nearly black but as Thera stared at the boy, she saw shades of reddish brown reflecting in the sunlight. Thera was afraid of this boy all of a sudden. She knew she herself was a demon and could defend herself, but she felt powerless against this boy while she looked at his lifeless eyes. The boys' eyes narrowed before he took his eyes off of her and looked to Eleni, the spell he had on her immediately broke and she swallowed forcing herself not to take a step back from the force.

"You got off. It's not my fault your friend rudely pushed you off of the swing." He said in a more-or-less grown up tone. Eleni's face grew red with anger.

"That's not fair, she didn't mean to!" Eleni fought with him as Thera stood to the side watching in utter horror. The boy cast his eyes on her again and Thera forgot how to breath.

"Well haven't you seen her? She's clearly not human. I mean, what type of person looks like that? Purple eyes? What a freak." He said bluntly as he kept swinging. Thera's heart fell into her stomach; she knew it was going to be like this. She had been waiting for it. Because no matter how nice she was, her features were too different to be anything but weird. "Even if she died her hair and put in colored lenses she still wouldn't be able to hide the fact that she's taller than all of us." He said rudely and at this point Thera was crying again.

She began to back away and the whole playground went silent. She finally found the strength to pull her eyes away and cover her face with her hands as she ran away from the swings sobbing uncontrollably. She heard Eleni crying out for her but she ignored her. She didn't want Eleni to catch her weird looks and grow a horn or something.

DantexNero

Nero fell limply onto Dante's naked chest, panting heavily. His hands slowly came out from under him so he could run his hands through the older mans' hair, looking up into sparkling blue eyes. He grinned then, lifting his head to give Dante a chaste kiss before lifting himself up off of his lover. He slid Dante out of him and groaned as he did so before flopping down next to him, heaving a satisfied sigh.

"What, no round four?" Dante asked and Nero looked over at him with a face that showed his disapproval.

"No Dante. I'm tired." He finished with a yawn and Dante chuckled as he pulled his lover close to him.

"Yeah, yeah. You have to pick Thera up in two hours anyway." Dante said and Nero nodded into his chest.

"Lemme sleep." Nero slurred as he snuggled closer into Dante's chest. Dante just huffed half of a laugh and bent down to sniff Nero's hair, damp with sweat and the smell of sex.

Just as they were about to drift off the phone rang. Both of them groaned and muttered curses. Neither of them wanted to get out of bed but they knew with the lack in jobs that they had been getting, they needed the money for Thera to eat.

"Go get it kid..." Dante mumbled and Nero muttered curses still tired from riding the older half demon. Nero let out a small sigh before sitting up and sliding off of the bed. He walked down the hall, took the steps two at a time and picked up the phone.

"Devil May Cry." He said rubbing his gradually throbbing hip. A woman's voice came from the other end.

"Is this Nero Angelo?" The Woman asked and Nero blinked at the full use of his name.

"Yeah." He said tiredly and the woman let out a sigh of relief before clearing her throat.

"This is the principle of Thera's preschool. Would you be able to come get Thera a tad earlier? We need to talk about a few things." She said and Nero felt a spike of panic run through his system.

"Did she do something to another child?" Nero asked his voice a little worried but he tried to keep himself calm. The woman on the other side of the phone sighed.

"Well no. You see she won't tell us. If you could just come up to the school then we could talk privately..." She explained and Nero felt himself un-tense a little, but then grew even more worried.

"Alright, we'll be there in a few minutes." Nero explained and hung up the phone before the woman could answer.

He turned from Dante's desk, running his hand through his hair and sighed. Maybe Dante had been right. Maybe he should have waited another year before letting her go to school. But Thera was already a year behind in age and a year ahead in knowledge. If she were to be held back another year then she won't be able to graduate with her age group. Nero made his way up the stairs and to his room. Once he had entered the room he glanced over at Dante before walking over to his dresser.

"Get up old man. We're going to the preschool." He said and Dante shifted on the bed.

"Why, did Thera kill someone?" He grumbled and Nero threw a boot at him. "Ow what the hell kid?" He asked, rubbing his head.

"The principle doesn't know because Thera won't tell her. That's why she's calling us in." Nero explained and Dante threw the covers off of himself.

"Fine." Dante muttered getting up from the bed and walking out their door to the bathroom.

"I'm getting a shower old man! Don't use all the hot water!" He called, hearing Dante chuckle.

"Take one with me and we won't waste the water." He retorted and Nero rolled his eyes.

"No way in hell." He said flatly and threw his clothes on the bed. He walked over to his old clothes that had been discarded onto the floor a while ago and picked up his boxers. "Hope we don't get into legal problems." Nero muttered to himself as he slipped them on, picking up his other clothes to discard them into the laundry basket.

He himself didn't mind if he got into trouble with the law. He protected the law and the rest of the population on a daily basis. The problem was doing that with a four year old daughter "on his hip" so to speak. If they got into trouble with the law then Thera would be taken away and they would do one of two things; put her in an adoption center, or-if they found out she was a demon as well-would take her away to one of the miscellaneous places in Capulet in which they kept the demons under control. Both weren't anything good for Thera. She was raised so far not to use her powers on any living thing. So if she had hurt someone, or killed them, then Nero would have no other choice but to give her up to the law if they intervened.

His chest grew tight at that thought. He would do anything but give Thera away. Four years with such a small being had made him-and Dante, even though the old man wouldn't admit it-softer in some ways. Dante himself had stopped making perverse and shrewd comments as often. Notice, as often. The old man still did it, no matter how many times Nero would smack him in the arm for it. At one point he had said something so dirty that Nero had shot him in the foot for it later when Thera had gone out with Lady. Dante hadn't gotten any make up sex for that one either. But at least Thera knew what the word anal meant and not to use it.

Nero removed himself from his thoughts at that comment, chuckling and moving down the hall way so he could enter the bathroom. The soft scent of strawberries entered his nose and he chuckled to himself. How could a man that killed demons and was continuously covered in blood splatter nearly every day want to smell like strawberries? Well not even he knew the answer. Dante himself said that Patty had switched his shampoo one day without telling him and he just found the smell even more likeable. Nero couldn't wrap his head around that explanation but shrugged it off in the end. He didn't want to worry about it, not when Dante just kept buying new bottles when he ran out. He relieved himself, hearing the water shut off at the same time he flushed before the door to the shower was shoved aside and Dante came striding out, naked, wet, and steaming like he had just come out of the oven. Yes Nero wanted to jump him again. No he wasn't going to. Not because he couldn't, but because he had to pick up Thera in less than an hour. So instead he turned his head away and went to the sink to brush his teeth.

"What, am I not hot enough to stare at?" Nero heard Dante's taunting voice come from behind him. Nero scoffed running the water over his tooth brush before squirting a decent amount of tooth paste onto it.

"That's not why I'm not looking old man." Nero said shortly before he stuck the brush in his mouth and started to vigorously brush his teeth. At this point Dante gave a hard slap to the youngers butt, causing Nero to jump; quite literally in fact, into the air and suck in a breath. Tooth paste went down his wind pipe and he coughed heavily trying to get it back up. "D-damn it-" He coughed some more. "Dante-!" When he finally caught his breath Dante was nowhere to be seen and the ghost of the others chuckle rang in his ears. He growled but ignored the other so he could finish brushing his teeth and hop into the shower.

If Dante had strawberry scented shampoo surely Nero would have something more manly to balance it out right? Well no, of course not. He had cinnamon scented shampoo. Dante had been surprised about it as well; not completely believing him until he saw the bottle in the shower when Nero had fully moved in. Now it was like second nature; when one of them went out shopping they picked up the other's necessities. When Nero stepped out of the shower Dante was in the bathroom again, fully dressed towel drying his mop of silver hair and brushing his teeth.

"So you can multi-task." Nero commented walking past his and kicking the back of his knee caps so the other's knees buckled and fell from under him. "That's for earlier." He said calmly as Dante muttered curses before getting up and watching as the younger devil hunter grabbed a towel from off of the door and made his way to their room.

A/N: So the title wasn't as creative but I'm glad I changed it. I tried to focus more on Dante and Nero in this chapter. I hope I didn't make them too OOC. I really tried. I have up to chapter 11 done up on a story outline. I'm still working on chapter twelve in my head. Things are going to start heating up from here on out so I hope you guys can keep up. =)

Quote of the Week: "Dream as if you will live forever, Live as if you will die today." James Dean


	9. Children

Chapter 9: Children

When Dante and Nero arrived at the principal's office Thera was sitting in the chair in front of the principles desk, staring at her hands which were playing with the edge of her shirt. The small demon girl seemed very nervous and almost scared as she sat in the oversized armchair. The principle was watching Thera wearily like she didn't know if Thera would attack her or sprout another head, which was odd in itself because he hadn't told them she was a demon. The question floated into his head like a leaf on top of water. 'Had they figured it out?' A weird feeling crept over Nero like he had walked into a freezer. His instincts told him it was ready for fight or flight mode. He knew it wasn't from the earlier feeling that he should run off away to another part of the world and go into hiding, no this was different and it seemed to confuse him for a moment before he shook it off. Instead of following his inner instincts like he usually would he completely entered the office, not feeling the need since this was-after all-the principal's office of a preschool. He put it off as the after effects of his and Dante's love making. It did make him act oddly when they went at it too many times.

Sitting down next to the white haired child and placing a hand on her shoulder instead he saw her ears perk at the feeling. Startled, Thera's head shot up and her wide amethyst eyes widened in fear before she focused on her father. Her reaction to his hand had stirred more brief questions in him before they were forgotten and Nero smiled as Thera threw herself from her chair and into her father's arms. Nero caught her so she wouldn't fall off of the chair before he patted her back. They sat there for a while whilst Dante walked over to the other side of Thera's chair to sit down and when she didn't let go of the younger devil hunter Nero looked over at the principal.

"So why did you call us in here? Has she done something wrong?" Nero asked and the female sitting at her desk pushed up her designer glasses giving him an apologetic smile. The woman seemed nice from her first facial expressions and the conversation on the phone. Maybe Nero might actually like this place.

"From what the teacher has explained it happened while the children were at recess. She had accidentally pushed one of her friends off of a swing and seemed pretty upset about it..." At this moment Thera tensed, turned violently from Nero's arms and glared at the principal. The look she gave the principle was quite shocking; her eyes were nearly as cold as popsicles and her face was screwed up in an angry snarl. Nero and Dante looked at their child's reaction in surprise.

"Teacher said no one would tell papa and daddy! Teacher promised she wouldn't tell! Teacher lied!" She yelled and the principal jumped in surprise. Then Thera started crying. Nero wrapped his arms around his child, confused about what had just happened.

"Shhh, Thera, you're alright." Nero said rubbing Thera's back comfortingly as she cried into his shirt. "You didn't do it to hurt your friend. You didn't mean it." He shushed her and she sniffled, lifting her head from his shirt to focus blurry purple eyes at him.

"But I hurt my friend. Papa told me not to hurt anyone…" She said and Nero turned to Dante who sighed and walked over to the two in the chairs from his place against the wall. He knelt down next to Thera and placed his hand on top of her head. His fingers soothed the silk softness of her hair before he spoke.

"I told you not to do it if you want to hurt them, if you get angry. You didn't mean to. Don't sweat it, I'm not mad." He said and Nero rolled his eyes at the way he worded it. It seemed Dante kept on forgetting Thera was only four years old. But he let it slide because Thera's sobs slowed, settling to hiccups and sputters. Dante placed a giant hand on the small child's shoulder, causing her to look up at him before he smiled at her. "Did you say sorry?" He asked and she nodded slowly making Dante gently squeeze her shoulder. "Then I'm not mad." He said and she smiled brightly, throwing her tiny pale arms around his neck and squeezing with all her might. To Dante's surprise her grip was very strong for a four year old.

"Yay, papa's not mad at me!" She exclaimed as Dante patted her back. Nero settled his attention on the principal again after looking fondly at his family.

"Is that all we came here for?" He said getting back onto the subject. He had a feeling there was something else to the story that she hadn't told them yet. The woman shook her head; much to Nero's displeasure, before speaking.

"Thera was seen running away from the playground after that happened and Mrs. Hopper, her teacher found her in the classroom broken up and crying so hard that she wasn't able to talk." She explained sadly and Dante felt Thera let go of his neck as her eyes became distant again before she sat back in the chair she had been sitting on before and pulled her legs up to her chest, burying her face on her knees. A twinge of pity shot through him and Dante let out a little sigh before putting his hand on her head again and petting it comfortingly.

"She won't tell you anything?" Dante asked and the principal shook her head in response. Dante sighed, looking over at Thera for a moment before glancing at Nero and back to the emotional child. "Hey princess," He called and Thera looked up at him with sad eyes. "Come here." He asked and she slowly hopped down from her chair before making her way over to the older half demon. He took her hand in his and rubbed the top of her hand soothingly before she looked up at him.

"Papa…" She said sadly and he had to frown a little at her tone. She sounded like a kicked puppy.

"What's wrong princess?" He asked carefully, making sure he didn't upset her more. She looked at the floor and he was uncertain of whether she would answer his question or not. Then she looked up at him. Her eyes looked so troubled and she actually looked scared but before he could ask what was wrong she shook her head and scrubbed the tears away from her face.

"Mm..." She muttered and continued to shake her head. Dante picked her up and wiped away a stray tear that had fallen.

"Come on princess. We won't be mad. We won't laugh at you either." Dante explained and all Thera did was break out into a fit of sobs. Dante's frown deepened and the two parents sighed in defeat. Nero turned to the principal and she smiled at him.

"She hasn't been talking to anyone about it." She said and Nero shook his head.

"It's okay. Sorry for causing so much trouble." He apologized and she shook her head.

"It was no trouble at all. Some children just have trouble coping with their first day." She said and Nero nodded turning to Dante. "Why don't you two take her home and see if she'll tell you anything at home. She might be uncomfortable here." She explained and Dante stood with Thera in his arms. Nero ruffled Thera's head and she looked up at him, still crying before he turned to the principle and nodded to her in goodbye.

"See you tomorrow when you drop her off Mr. Nero." She said and Nero gave her a small smile before walking out with Dante and Thera in tow. Dante finally got Thera to stop crying by tickling her before he put Thera down. When they went through the door of the principal's office they approached the school entrance.

"Thera when we get home you can have some of papa's ice cream, okay?" Nero explained making Thera jump up and down. Dante gave him a glare but rolled his eyes in the end and gave in, opening the entrance to the school before walking out. When Thera ran ahead in excitement she stopped short, her eyes growing wide and staring straight ahead. Nero and Dante stopped in confusion behind her before they turned their attention ahead of them.

"So these are your parents?" The same smooth, high and contradicting voice from the playground suddenly found its way to her ears. The boy from before stared at her with cold gold eyes, holding her in place just like before. "What ugly humans." He said blandly. Nero felt a small twinge of anger at the small child for having heard him say that. Didn't the kid have any manners? "No wonder..." He said and slowly walked past all three of them and into the school, the door shut behind him and Dante and Nero turned back from glaring at the door in time to see Thera holding back tears and sniffling.

"Thera," Nero began kneeling down next to her so he could comfort her. "Did that boy have something to with what happened at the playground?" He asked and all Thera did was whimper and try not to cry. Nero felt his heart sink a little at the sight of the poor girl in the state she was in, but he stood up and put a hand on her head. "Well come on. Let's go home and have some ice cream and watch TV." He said and she nodded slowly walking ahead of them to the car. She stayed on the side walk, waiting for them to open the door for them so she could hop in the back and get in her car seat. Dante wrapped his arm around Nero's waist and kept wailing.

"Yes, lets. I think she's had a pretty long day." He said as Nero huffed at the man's hand that was currently holding him captive.

DantexNero

When they had returned home Nero prepared some of Dante's strawberry sundae for Thera, handing the remaining cup of sweet sugary coldness to Dante himself before sitting down and watching Thera chow down on the cold treat in front of the TV. She was watching a kid's show, something about school pets saving the day of other animals. Honestly he really could care less. If it weren't for the fact that Thera was obsessed with the show then he would never watch it. _Ever_. All the obvious things in kids' shows annoy him, not to mention the stupid characters. By the time they had finished everything up and four O'clock came around Thera had finally calmed down and was now nearly dozing off. Nero went over to Dante, who was reading a magazine issue of fire arms monthly with ear head phones on listening to music. Sitting down on his designated area of the desk he waved his hand in front of Dante's face, clearly getting his attention when Dante's eyes snapped up from his magazine to look at the offending hand that dared to interrupt his time relaxing.

"What is it kid?" He asked and Nero thrust his thumb in Thera's direction with a serious face.

"Keep an eye on her; I'm going to go get dinner ready." He said and Dante waved him off before getting up and going to lounge next to their daughter. Nero caught Dante's sleeve before he could leave causing Dante to look at him in question. "Try to get her to talk..." He asked softly and Dante nodded. "Hope you guys like grilled cheese." Nero said and Thera cheered as he walked into the kitchen to make dinner.

Dante sat next to Thera, making sure that he didn't bounce her up into the air when he sat down. Thera crawled up to him and lay in front of him, snuggling her back to his chest before she continued with watching "The Wonder Pets". Dante propped his head up on his hand that was leaning by the elbow, his whole body stretched out on the couch like one giant lion. His bare feet hung off the end where Thera discovered was fun to tickle papa back when they had a giant tickle fight. Of course Dante wasn't that ticklish but even demons have exceptions. Dante heard Thera giggle at the show and he patted her head, dragging her attention from the TV to his hand.

"Hey princess," He asked and Thera answered with a bright 'yes papa?' to which Dante chuckled at her tone of voice. She sounded really happy and he really didn't want to ruin what little left of the day she had. But Nero wanted him to ask and he honestly needed to know himself so he could stop worrying. Not that he worried that much but he did occasionally. "Can I ask you somethin'?" He asked and she nodded absent mindedly while looking at the TV. "You know that boy with the gold eyes we saw today?" He asked and she nodded, still seemingly distracted by the TV. "What did he do?" Dante asked calmly petting her hair trying to make sure he didn't make her any more upset then she had been.

The only thing she did was laugh at the TV show. Dante sighed a little in irritation but didn't bother asking anymore questions. He needed to make sure that she wouldn't break down again. If she did than he would be nursing a head ache for the rest of the night. He decided that he would let it go since it didn't really seem to bother her anymore and wait until tomorrow to see how things went. Maybe she would come home tomorrow and she would be fine. But he wouldn't know until she actually went to school tomorrow.

When Nero finally came out of the kitchen he had called the two for dinner. Hearing no sounds but that of the TV, he walked over to the couch and found the two out cold; snuggling together on the couch. If only Dante could see himself now... Maybe he would take pictures first... No, then Dante would kill him, or something close. So he decided to wake them instead.

Nero smirking to himself he got prepared to wake them both up. He nudged Dante in the shoulder watching as his face scrunched up. He still wondered how a man, who hunted demons day in and day out; could sleep like a rock. Nothing usually seemed to wake his lover up unless there were demons, or there was food.

"Dante, Thera, dinner." He said and they were up and about in a matter of minutes.

A/N: For some reason this chapter was a bit short... But I'm so sorry guys. Sadistic Neko told me that thee was two chapter tens and no chapter nine! Ugh I'm such an idiot. Well I was uploading these at a god awful hour. Hmm, I hope you will forgive me and please keep reading.

Quote of the week: "What do you mean, my birth certificate expired?" – Anonymous

Pure~*


	10. Rats

Chapter 10: Rats

Throughout the few months that Thera was in Preschool the bullying kept happening. Although on the days that the boy, Adelais, she had come to find out from the teacher one afternoon, wasn't at school which wasn't very often her day went pretty well. She would be picked up by either Dante or Nero and go out for ice cream. She would always be in the best of moods those days; although a few days before the end of the school year, things really got out of hand…

On a Friday, right before the Memorial holiday week, Thera sat in the sand box at school during recess. Today Adelais was in school. Much to Thera's displeasure the gold eyed boy had taken her lunch at lunch time, he tripped her while she was walking to the front of the class so she could receive a gold star from the teacher, and was beginning to turn all of the other students on her. That's right, she was only in preschool and most of the other kids already hated her. They called her rude names, pushed her around at recess and even hit her at times. But even while all this happened she did not cry, she did not complain; she only took everything that they would give her because after all, she wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose because her papa told her not to. And because of this she would not tell her parents. She wouldn't make them worry or make them all stressed out.

So there she sat, in the sand box, sifting through the sand with her hands and leaving it in a pile. One child walked up behind her and kicked down her sand pile before walking away. Her eyes filled with tears but they didn't spill over. It was like this every day now. At times she would make the sand in her hand 'disappear' and the other kids would grow afraid and run away. Her parents were called in many times in the year she had started preschool. The only friend she had kept in the end was Eleni, the one she had talked to in the beginning. Eleni had been the only one who had seen her as a real person and not an animal. Right now Eleni was using the bathroom and Thera was on her own, in a recess yard full of her hateful peers.

"Hey devil!" A voice came from across the recess yard. Thera didn't know whether to look up or not, but she did, choosing the better of two evils. Honestly, either way; she was going to break out sobbing in the end. It was better to choose the one that wouldn't get her hit.

"My name isn't devil Tommy!" She said and the boy who had called her gave her a cute, blue eyed glare.

"Fine then, demon. Come over here. Adelais wants to talk to you." He called and Thera sniffled.

"No! I don't want to talk to him." She argued. Tommy gritted his teeth and stamped over to her.

"Adelais told me that if you didn't come I get to tell about your secret to everyone." He said and she paled.

"Y-you don't know my secret!" She said and Adelais walked up behind Tommy.

"I do." He said coldly and Tommy gasped before he skittered off towards the other side of the recess yard. "Now that no one is around, I'd like to talk to you." He said and took a seat on the edge of the sand box. Thera glared heatedly up at the boy.

"Can I ask you first?" She asked and he looked at her expectantly. "Why do you sound so grown up?" She asked and he chuckled, rubbing the side of his neck.

"I'm not inclined to tell you that." He explained and she gave him a clueless look. He looked to the side, muttering something about her being stupid and then smirked at her. "I don't have to tell you." He reworded and she nodded confused. "So," he said and she jumped. She still wouldn't look him in the eyes. Looking at the sand in her hands was the only way she could talk to him. "Why haven't you fought back yet?" He asked and she furrowed her brows, not answering him. "Why haven't you pushed me or kicked me back?" He asked again, a little impatiently. She looked to her side.

"Papa said I wasn't allowed to hurt people no matter how mad I am." She said and clenched her fist shut, watching as the sand inside it turned to dust and blew away. "I won't hurt anyone as long as Papa says I'm not allowed to." She said and nodded to herself. Suddenly Adelais burst out laughing.

The whole entire recess yard went silent at his cold, yet humored laugh. Thera blushed, not knowing how her comment had been the least bit funny. She was glad he wasn't yelling at her or talking to her with distaste, but she couldn't shake the bone chilling feeling she got when he laughed. When he stopped laughing she frowned at him, clearly confused.

"What did I say? Why did you laugh?" She asked and he sneered at her.

"I'm laughing because I think it's funny. The whole idea of you not wanting to hurt anyone makes me sick and just because your daddy says so. No one can go their whole lives without hurting someone. You think you're going to stay so pure, but you're wrong." At this point Thera was trembling. If what Adelais was saying is true then Papa and Daddy were going to hate her forever. They were never going to want to talk to her again. This was why she would never be able to tell them what was going on. "Why not run away?" Adelais asked and Thera's head shot up to look at him. As soon as their eyes connected Thera couldn't move. That feeling of being over powered held her in place and made her trembling arms nearly go limp. She couldn't move. Couldn't think. Couldn't talk. What had he said about running away? "Run away." He said again. "You won't have to worry about hurting anyone if you stay out of the way." He said and Thera swallowed. "You won't see anyone again but at least they'll be okay." He said and Thera whimpered, still unable to say anything. "Why not just start right now…" He said lowly and his eyes narrowed as he leaned forward. "Just get up…" He said and she felt the need to stand. "And walk away…" He said and Thera felt an undying need to just flee. She found herself raising to her feet and backing up.

"Ah-ah-ah-I…" She stuttered unable to form a coherent sentence. "N-n-" and then suddenly Adelais as in front of her, touching her. He was hugging her, but not the nice warm hugs she got from her parents. This hug was bone chilling and hurt to her very core. She whimpered, unable to actually cry or scream.

Mrs. Hopper was in front of her that instant, asking if everything was alright. Adelais suddenly let go of her and gave a worried look up at the teacher.

"I think she saw a spider." He said and held her hand. The chill didn't leave her but she could at least move around and feel enough emotion that she could fall to her knees and start crying. Which, in all honesty; probable wasn't the best idea, but hey. She was after all, only four years old.

Mrs. Hopper touched Thera's shoulder before picking the crying child up and taking her inside. On the way in she passed Eleni who was coming out of the bathroom with another teacher. Eleni took one look at her friend and followed the two into the building.

"Mrs. Hopper?" Eleni's small voice came from behind her. "What's wrong with Thera?" She asked as they turned the corner into the class room. "It was Adelais wasn't it?" She asked as Mrs. Hopper set her down on the fluffy couch that was in the far corner of the room. "Adelais is always hurting her." She said defiantly and Mrs. Hopper turned to her.

"Adelais helped Thera when she started crying." The teacher said and Eleni frowned. "Now why don't you stay here with Thera? She needs to be with one of her friends." She said and Eleni only nodded.

"Okay Mrs. Hopper." She said and walked past the teacher to sit next to her crying friend. "Thera." She said happily. "Did Adelais do it again?" She asked. She was the only one that knew the Adelais did anything. Everyone just thought that Adelais had a crush on Thera. And maybe he did. Maybe this was his sick way of telling Thera that he liked her. But Thera and the rest of them didn't know that. Four year olds just didn't think like that. But Adelais wasn't four years old. There was no way.

"Yes Eleni. He did." Thera said before she broke down again. Eleni rubbed her back and Thera gently shook her off. "Maybe he's right. Maybe I _should_ run away. People wouldn't have to worry about me hurting them." She said and Eleni slapped her arm. "Ah!" Thera yelled falling back onto the couch. She looked at her friend mortified while holding her cheek. Eleni's face was red and her eyes were blazing.

"How could you say that?!" She asked nearly screaming. "We love you." Eleni mumbled her own eyes filling with tears. "Your two papa's and me." She whimpered and Thera sniffled.

"I'm sorry." Thera said sitting up on the couch and looking down at her lap. "I'm sorry I thought he was right." She said and Eleni nodded hard sitting next to her.

"You can't trust him. Anything he says…" She said and they both looked at each other smiling. "You can do this Thera. I'll help you." Eleni said and Thera looked at her, confused as to what she meant. Eleni giggled. "I mean beating him of course! You can't do it on your own." She said and Thera hugged her.

"Thanks Eleni." She said and they both went over to the art tables so they could draw. Surely Mrs. Hopper wouldn't mind if they didn't make a mess.

DanteXNero

Dante yawned as he stretched back in his chair, nearly tipping it over if it weren't for his foot keeping him balanced with his own desk. He shivered suddenly and rubbed his arms together, feeling a cold breeze float over his shirtless skin. This normally wouldn't bother him because it was pushing 100 degrees outside the shop and they didn't have an air conditioner. So the need to shiver would more or less be irrelevant to the current situation.

Nero noticed his mate rubbing his arms from his place on the couch. He sat there, shining blue rose to perfection and making sure that it was in top condition for his next mission. He was also shirtless, but at least he had the balls to actually wear something else other than leather pants in the boiling weather. He was currently wearing a pair of navy blue basketball shorts and his signature jacket, unzipped and half hanging off of him. If it weren't for the heat Dante would surely have him bent over the couch and screaming his name. For now he was left in peace sitting in the shade and shining the cool metal of his gun.

"What was that?" Nero asked Dante who was picking up his magazine again. He shrugged.

"Someone must have just walked over my grave." He muttered with an underlying tone. Nero couldn't quite figure out what he meant but shaking his head and sighing before turning his attention back to his gun. Right now he had many questions and he had an idea of how to answer them.

"Does Thera have any friends at school?" Dante suddenly asked and Nero looked up from his double revolver to look at Dante in surprise.

"Why?" He asked setting down his gun and standing from his place on the couch into the blazing heat. Dante sat forward in his seat, his feet planted safely on the ground.

"She's not telling us anything and something is obviously going on in her school. It pisses me off to see her coming from the school entrance looking like she wants to pee herself from fear." Dante said his eyes narrowing. "Midget kids can't do that to Thera when she knows she's above them." Dante said and Nero gave him a disapproving frown.

"She doesn't think she's above everyone else her age." He said and Dante shrugged before Nero sat on the desk, one foot propped up in front of him so he could rest his arm on his knee.

"What I mean is she knows she's not weak. She can take care of herself. Since school started she looks miserable and even refuses to go sometimes. There's got to be something in that school that scares her a lot more than a normal human kid would." He said and Nero sighed.

"Well the only one I know of is the Greek girl that we met in the beginning of her first year." Nero rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "I think her name was Eleri or something." He said and Dante lifted an eye brow before shaking his head and getting up from his chair.

"Kid, you're about as bad with names as I am." Dante said as he walked towards the door and grabbed swung the keys to his car around his finger. "Ready to go pick up the princess?" He asked and Nero sighed looking at him skeptically before getting up from the desk and jogging to catch up, picking up Dante's muscle shirt from the floor and tossing it at the back of his head.

"I don't think the principle is gonna like seeing you shirtless." Nero said and Dante scoffed.

"What this fine body?" He said gesturing to all of him after he had caught his shirt and slung it over his shoulder. Nero punched him in the chest.

"Don't get too cocky old man. You have a daughter to pick up, remember?" He asked and Dante rolled his eyes before cracking a grin and getting in the car.

"Yeah yeah, I know." He said as he put the car in reverse and swung out of his parking lot to speed down the road.

Quote of the Week: "It bugs the crap out of me when somebody talks more than I do." ~Dante~ Devil May Cry 3


	11. Graduation

Chapter 11: Graduation

Thera flipped over in bed, her silver tresses knotting up while she was tossing and turning all night. She pulled the covers closer around her body, trying to keep the cold wind that was blowing into her room away from her bare arms and legs. She snuggled into her bed, rubbing her head on her pillow and sighed lightly before she started to doze off again. The rays of the sun warmed her face but she didn't stir.

"Thera." She heard before there was a loud knocking from her door. She groaned, shoving her face into her pillow and tried to ignore the offending voice that was coming through her cherry wood door. "Thera come on." She heard it again and she; again, tried to ignore it. That's when the door burst open and in came her father, all in his ignorant and half naked glory. This was her usual morning now that she had entered elementary school. Her days of her dad coming in to wake her up all nice and quiet were over. "Thera, let's go, you're going to be late." Dante said as Thera sat up in bed. "Graduation day isn't going to last forever you know." He said and she sighed gently and sat up on both of her forearms, her hair falling in a veil around her face.

"I know father, let me get dressed." She said and yawned while stretching sitting up completely in her bed. She threw her legs over the edge of her bed, showing her green Puffy Ami Yumi pajamas before she walked to her closet and began undressing.

"See ya downstairs princess." Dante muttered before he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Thera smiled to herself as she got ready. She didn't know why, maybe it was the fact she was graduating from her last year of elementary? Probably. But she wouldn't know until she went downstairs and finally got the morning started. She happily threw off her pajama's, which were growing small on her body before she Threw on a pair of shorts and a tank top. The weather in Capulet could get a tad overbearing if you didn't prepare for it. Slipping on some flip flops she threw her door open and rushed for the stairs, not forgetting to brush her teeth on the way down. When she reached the stairs she sat on the railing and grinned to herself.

"Incoming!" She yelled loudly and pushed herself forward so she was sliding. She sailed down that railing at a startling speed, yelling a thrilled 'woohoo!' all the way down before turning sharply at the bottom and flying out into the office. She staggered to catch herself when she landed running a ways before she tripped over a loose floor board and tumbling to the ground. When she stopped rolling she stared at the ceiling, looking at the old fan that was hanging by a thread before she burst out laughing. "That was fun!" She exclaimed laughing and holding her sides. Dante came over to her, his arms folded and one of his silver eye brows arched. He lips held an amused smile.

"Having fun?" He asked and Thera nodded, calming down before Dante shook his head a smirk set on his face. "Just don't kill yourself." He said before turning from her as she got up. "Your dad's making food for us in the kitchen." Dante said and Thera nodded once more dusting off her shorts.

Thera had gotten used to the reoccurring morning in the Devil May Cry office. Things were-more or less- quiet except for the occasional demon coming in to look for trouble. Dante and Nero had begun giving Thera lessons in fighting when she had turned nine, hoping that she had the head now where she wouldn't try and actually use her powers while they were training. Nothing much had happened over the past seven years. Now that she was at the age of eleven Thera was a child prodigy. She didn't need any help from her parents and she could devour information like it was water. Of course her teachers didn't know that. If they did Thera would be in some type of a lab… or something. So only her parents and closest friend knew. Throughout the years Eleni had remained by her side. Adelais had withdrawn from school a few days after Dante and Nero made a visit to the school to talk to Eleni.

_"I still think we should look into it. I don't like the fact that the boy just came into the preschool and got most of the children to turn on one person like they were honoring a god or something.' Nero said the same day they Adelais had disappeared. Dante released Thera's hair, letting the newly, but loosely made ponytail sway back and forth before setting the child on the floor and sitting back in his chair._

_ "Hey I don't like it either, but I don't think we're going to get anything else. The other kids can't even remember anything about him. There aren't enough pieces here Nero. I could ask Trish but I doubt she'd be able to come up with anything." He said before watching Thera run over to her daddy and hug his leg._

And she hadn't. Dante had asked Trish to find anything else out about the kid that she could. The woman had disappeared for a good month before turning up with nothing but the demand for money. So Nero and Dante found it better to forget about it then, only worrying about Thera and what jobs they would be able to find before they ran out of food.

Thera ran to the kitchen, smelling the bacon sizzling on the pan and the toast toasting in the toaster. Her mouth began to water at the overwhelming smell of food before she sat down at the table that was conveniently placed in the corner of the kitchen as the makeshift dining room. She kicked her feet and hummed to herself, wondering how long it would take for her dad to finish cooking.

"Are you excited?" Nero's voice came from the stove and Thera looked over at him from her feet with a big smile. "About graduating I mean." He corrected so she wouldn't think he was talking about the food. She nodded so fast it would give anyone else whiplash.

"I can't wait! Me and Eleni are going to get ice cream after with her mom." She explained and Nero nodded. This had been the seventh time she had talked about her and Eleni's trip after school. The first time she had asked him after school one day and now she wouldn't stop talking about it.

"Don't forget I'm going to pick you up from the ice cream parlor around three." He said and she nodded.

Nero plated out some bacon and put the toasted bread next to it before setting it in front of Thera who happily dug in after thanking him for the food. She shoveled food into her mouth like she hadn't eaten in months, slowly devouring all of her food. Nero chuckled at the way she ate as he sat down with his own plate of food. Dante sauntered into the kitchen from his place near the laundry room, scratching the back of his head as he glanced over at the two sitting at the table. His gaze wandered mostly from the back of Nero's head to Thera's hands, which were flying from her plate to her mouth. Dante gave a breathy laugh making the two pause as the leather clad devil went to pick up his own plate.

"You eat any faster and you'll make yourself sick." Dante warned the child before sitting down himself and messing with the fork in his hand. His plate had nearly every kind of breakfast food on it instead of only bacon and toast; it had eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, pancakes, waffles, and a muffin. Ironically there was no fruit even though he loved strawberries. "I have a job today so I'll go shopping with what I earn." He explained which explained the lack of red sweet sticky goodness on his plate. Nero nodded and nodded too Thera.

"After I get done picking her up I have a job to do as well." He said and Dante looked at him questionably.

"You're bringing her along?" He asked and Thera perked up. Nero nodded.

"It's a small job, it's not like she would be in danger, and we've brought her places with us before." He said and her eyes gleamed.

"I get to go on a job with dad?" She asked and Nero nodded. She jumped up and down in her chair. "Yes, yes yes yes! Yes!" She cheered and got up so she could hug him. "Thank you." She said hugging him tight. Nero looked to the side with a blush, scratching his nose catching Dante's snicker before he glared at him and rubbed Thera's head.

"No problem." He said and Thera let go so she could go back to eating her breakfast.

"By the way," Dante said catching Nero and Thera's attention. "The break you have off we're going out for vacation."

"You're serious?" Nero said with a skeptical look. "There's no way we'd be able to leave the city here with the way the demons have been nearly taking over the place." Nero argued while Dante took a drink of some thick red liquid Nero would guess to have been tomato juice. His mouth twitched into a frown before he looked back at Dante who was looking at him.

"I called Trish and asked her to. I even paid her a full month for picking up on our jobs. She gave me one helluva time until I told her where we were going."

"Where _are _we going?" Nero asked with a nearly irritated look. Thera, who had been mostly ignoring their conversation while she was eating, looked up from her food and looked at her father expectantly.

"Mom told me that the old man used to rent a place a few hours from here. He bought it out before mom had me and Verg so we used to go there a lot." He ate his last piece of egg before speaking again. "I figured neither of you has probably been there so I might as well take you."

"Where exactly is this?"

"What, you don't trust me?" Dante asked in a smart tone. Nero smacked him in the arm.

"That's not what I'm saying idiot. I'm asking because I want to know. And I'm sure Thera would want to know too." Thera made a noise in agreement, finishing her food and swallowing most of her milk before she looked at Dante with hopeful eyes.

"Yeah father I want to know too." She said and Dante put his hands up in defeat.

"Yeah okay, it's not like I was going to lie to you." He said and sighed. "I'm planning on taking you two to the beach." He said and Nero smiled.

"She'd like that." Thera looked at him puzzled.

"What's a beach?" She asked and Nero looked at her surprised.

"Has no one told you about going to the beach?" At Nero's question Thera shook her head. Clearly no one at her school had that kind of money. Not that they did either but since the place was already there and no one was looking after it, it's not like they had to pay to stay there. "The beach is where the sea stops and the land begins. It's a strip along the edge that's sandy. People go there to swim in the water or play. It's kind of hard to explain but it's really fun." Nero explained and Thera tipped her head to the side.

"How do you know if you've never been there before?" She asked and Nero laughed at her words.

"I've been to the beach a lot, just never to Dante's beach house." He explained and she nodded still not quite getting it but finding his explanation good enough for the time being. Dante glanced at Nero.

"You've been to the beach?" At Dante's question Nero glared at him.

"I might have lived in Fortuna before but I've been to the beach. That's something they actually let you do." Nero muttered something else about the way they made him dress but Dante didn't catch it before Nero directed his attention to Thera again. "Let's go, don't want to be late for your last day." He said, meaning to school. Thera nodded hopping out of her seat and taking her plate over to the sink before she hurried out to the office to grab her back pack. Nero finished his food and followed shortly after.

"Hey don't forget her lunch!" Dante said throwing a dark green lunch bag out of the kitchen and into the office. Nero caught it from behind, the bag nearly hitting him in the head before he handed Thera the bag which was set in her back pack.

"Thanks." Nero called as they made their way to the double doors. "See you." He called and Dante made a sound that Nero could only imagine was a goodbye before he shut the door behind him.

DanteXNero

Nero turned off Dante's motorcycle and took off his helmet before kicking the stand down and turning around to Thera who was holding onto his body for dear life. He grinned at her and patted her head so she looked up at him.

"Hop off, we're here." He said and she clumsily got off of the giant metal contraption. This was her first time riding on Dante's bike. This was mostly because it was still getting fixed from when Nero had completely trashed it on his succubus mission. The other reason was because they had been putting on a back seat to it.

"That was pretty awesome, until we hit a pot hole…" Thera said and Nero chuckled as her placed both of their helmets on the back of the bike.

"I told you to hold on tight." He said and ruffled her hair. "Besides, you could have handled the fall anyway." He said and she chuckled.

They made their way into the school as other parents and their children followed. The ones that came in with their parents were the ones that refused to take the bus because of miscellaneous reasons. Some got bullied off of the busses; others didn't like crowded places; and others like Thera refused to let people behind the wheel drive them places when they didn't know them. Well there weren't many children-if any-that thought that last one, but Nero let Thera think that. So Nero or Dante got up early in the morning to take her to school. Sometimes both of them would get up early-like that morning- because the other had a job to take care of. Who would take her depended who had a job later that day.

"Why don't you go to your class? I'll see you in the gym." Nero said and Thera gave him a nervous smile and a nod before she went trotting off to her homeroom.

Nero made his way over to the attendance office where everyone was making their way to and stood behind a woman. She was pale enough to be dead and had brown nearly black hair. It reached her waist like Thera's hair and the end was tied together with a silver ribbon. A chill went down Nero's spine as he looked at the back of the woman's head. She had an uncanny resemblance to someone he had seen before. He tried to ignore it as they stepped forward. An object fell from the woman's purse as she stepped forward. Nero noticed the gleam of the object and in a flash had picked it up and was now inspecting it.

In his hand he held an amulet type necklace. This necklace was a vial in the shape of a talon filled with a thick red substance and strung on a braided silver colored string. Nero arched an eyebrow before looking in front of him to see the woman reaching up to touch her chest. Her form went rigid before she turned and looked down. Nero quickly slipped the amulet into his pocket and put his other hand in his pocket as well so he looked less suspicious. He looked to the side at the children shuffling away to their class rooms to prepare for the graduation.

"Um, excuse me." Spoke a gentle female voice from in front of him. He looked at the woman in front of him and noticed that she had dull sky blue eyes. He was shocked at how beautiful she was and she seemed to hold him in place. He felt like he couldn't breathe. "I seemed to have dropped my necklace, have you seen it somewhere?" She asked and he shook his head giving her an apologetic smile.

"Sorry." He said shortly and she sighed, turning around. She kept on looking for it as the line shortened. And when it was Nero's turn he got his visitor sticker and followed the other people down the hall. All the time he was fingering the amulet in his pocket, careful of the point at the end.

During the Graduation ceremony Nero stood at the back of the gym watching all the students walk up to the teacher and shaking her hand. The teacher also gave out "outstanding student" diplomas. Thera got one along with two other students before the ceremony was over. The whole thing only lasted until one in the afternoon. This meant Nero had two hours to kill until he had to pick Thera up.

"Yeah it was so fun!" Nero heard Thera as he exited the gym. "It was my first time being on a motorcycle and dad made me wear this giant helmet and these huge glasses." She explained laughing with some of her friends. Nero shook his head at her and turned the corner so he could exit the building.

'Better give her some space now that she's with her friends.' Nero thought to himself and made his way to the bike. He tossed the extra helmet into the extra compartment in the back before strapping on his own helmet and starting the bike up. He backed up out of his parking space and revved his engine lifting his hand up to flip the visor down his hand froze at the voice that called out.

"Bye dad!" Thera's voice rang out. He turned his head to where her voice had come from and saw her standing on the stairs with her friends. He smiled underneath his helmet.

'Let's show off a little bit.' He thought and his devil side gave a growl in agreement. So he gave a short wave before flipping the visor down and revving the engine again and popping a wheelie and speeding off. Can't hurt to be cocky once in a while…

Quote of the week: "Abstract art: a product of the untalented sold by the unprincipled to the utterly bewildered." - Al Capp


	12. Travel Plans

Chapter 12: Help Wanted

Nero looked at the phone in his hand like it was the hardest choice he had ever made in his life. Then again, it probably was. His grip on the phone tightened turning his knuckles white. All he had to do was press the right button, hold the phone up to his face and wait for someone to answer. So why was his heart racing so fast? Why did his hands feel clammy and his hand quiver? Not even fighting Kyrie's brother had made him this nervous. Hell not even calling Kyrie herself made him this nervous.

Nero swallowed as his hand hovered over the first number on the dial pad. What could possibly be so bad that could happen? Calling would give him a better chance than staying where he was. He couldn't possibly afford where he was now. Not after…

Nero shook his head furiously and glared at the phone like it had offended him. He had to do this. No matter how much he might regret it. His devil bringer nearly crushed the phone before he dialed the first number.

"How bad could it be?" Nero reassured himself as he continued to dial. Finally when he held the phone up to his ear the ringing began, telling him that he had completed the number. His heart raced and his devil bringer clenched and unclenched in anticipation before he heard the click, signaling the other line had picked up.

"_Devil May Cry_." A slightly irritated female voice answered over other voices that were yelling. Nero blinked in confusion completely silent on his side of the line. It sounded like a gang fight was going on the other end and he had interrupted. Had he dialed the right number? No, he knew he had. She had said Devil May Cry; which was the name of Dante's shop right? Right? "_Hello?_" The female voice came again clearly pissed by his lack of speech.

"Ah, hi." Nero began a little awkwardly. "Is D-" Nero was cut off before he could even ask what he had practiced over a million times.

"_Look I don't know who gave you this phone number but this isn't a line for kids to do prank calls on."_ She deadpanned and Nero sighed in irritation.

"I'm not a kid miss, I'm 17." He spoke, irritation clear in his voice. The woman on the other side sighed again.

"_Fine, hold on_." She said and Nero could hear her yelling from his side of the phone. "_Trish! We've got some guy on the phone asking for a job_." Her first word was so loud that Nero could tell she was trying to break up the fight behind her. Then he realized whose name she had called. Hadn't that been the name Gloria told him to call her? Then Trish would be the blonde woman he had met before….

"_Hello?_" A slightly less irritated voice answered. Nero sighed at the change. He had better luck talking with Trish than with whoever he was just talking to.

"Hey Trish, it's Nero." He said scratching the side of his nose even though he knew she couldn't see his blush.

"_Oh, Nero_." She sounded a little surprised. "_It's been a while, what's up? Is there another infestation?_" She asked. Nero unconsciously rubbed the back of his neck this time.

"Ah… no. Actually I was wondering if I could talk to Dante…"

"_Dante left a few hours ago on a mission. Unfortunately he's not going to be back for a few days._" Trish explained.

Nero felt his pulse quicken. His only hope was out on a mission and he didn't think he would be able to last another day in this house. It's not that he was getting evicted or his land lady thought he was selling illegal drugs. It was just that the brightly colored walls and walnut shaded wood reminded him too much of…

"Could you tell him something for me when he gets back?" Nero asked in a tight voice. He hoped to hell she wouldn't notice the change.

"_Yeah._" Was all she said and Nero swallowed. If he could at least give her the message then maybe he would understand. It might not come from his own mouth but heck, if he understood; who the hell cares who says it.

"You're not the only one anymore, old man. The chapel is useless now." Nero paused for a moment and then sighed. "Never mind, forget it. I'll just call back in a few days." He said and felt like he had been hit by a supersized truck. All of the effort it took to dial before had been wiped out of him. "Thanks anyway Trish." He said and they said their goodbyes before Nero hung up the phone. He stood there for a moment before his hand suddenly it hit the wall, leaving a hole and he walked over to his couch. He slouched down into it, rubbing his face in his hands before leaning forward and leaning his arms on his knees. "You were my only way out old man…" He muttered to no one in particular.

Nero had nothing left where he now sat. A few weeks ago Kyrie had up and left, telling him the even though he saw her as his lover; she was nothing more than a loving sister. She then told him she would be going overseas for the first time and she might not be back for a while. Needless to say he had been pretty down when she told him that. After all he went through to protect her, a year later she goes and breaks up with him. But as much as he hated to admit it, she was right. Throughout the years they had known each other Nero did nothing but spoil Kyrie. He bought her presents and treated her special from everyone else. But she only saw him as her brother. He mistook his feelings for her as love because before this he had never known love or friendship or even the joy of having a family.

So now that she was away across the world he needed to find a place to stay. It didn't matter if he took his furniture or not. Truthfully it wasn't even his. He might have paid for it but he barely used anything but the couch he was currently sitting on. True he had used the bed they shared together but it wasn't like he spent every night at home. Most of the time he was out at night patrolling the city and making sure there was no one out late at night. Even after the whole 'savior' trouble the holy knights let him stay just for termination jobs and patrolling the city at night. Meaning _at night_. Not during the day or early morning. They didn't trust him enough to socialize with people during the day. Nero sighed again rubbing his temple with his human hand. He could just send it over to Kyrie's new place over in the middle of Fortuna. That's where she had finally chosen to move now that they weren't going to live together anymore.

Nero got up off of the couch; standing in the middle of the room looking like he had never been so confused in his life. He needed a walk, a nice long walk that would take him far away from his problems.

Grabbing his sweat shirt he exited his house, making sure that none of the holy knights were around. Sure he was allowed to patrol still but on his days off they ripped him a new one. No one was allowed out after curfew, even if you work for them. Nero thanked his lucky stars that Kyrie wanted to move to a more rural place in Fortuna as he walked down the dead silent road. His boots echoed on the stone but Nero didn't really care. He turned the corner into an alley where two people were playing a card game, not that Nero cared about that either. They saw him, hurriedly tried to put the cards away before standing up.

"Uh sorry we're out so late Nero." They knew him, hell everyone knew Nero was working for the knights. If they didn't; well then they must either be too good or the live under a rock. Nero turned his face to them and shrugged.

"I'm off today. Do whatever you want." He said and the two men looked at each other before he walked past them and heard them muttering to themselves. Nero kept his head to the ground then, walking forward until he exited the alley. He walked with his eyes glued to his boots, and his mind in the clouds. He shoved his hands in his pockets and let his mind wander.

Ever since things with Kyrie had fallen apart he just didn't seem like the old him anymore. He didn't feel like the smart assed guy he once was. Sure he did pull off some comments that left others baffled but that wasn't the same as how he was. If Kyrie could do this to him he felt bad for the other poor sap that she decided she didn't love. Something inside him growled and he tried to push it away. He didn't need any other voices to be angry at Kyrie when he really didn't have any reason to be. Sure, they broke up. Sure he had been pretty angry and sad when it happened, but he got over it because he had confused his feelings.

"You there!"

A shout came suddenly from behind him and Nero's head shot up to see one of the Holy Knights running his way. His body reacted by veering off to the left into another alley where he scaled the walls by jumping from one to the other until he reached the roof. He had wandered into one of the more populated areas of Fortuna and hadn't realized it. Nero sighed silently to himself as the knight below ran past completely unknowing that Nero had just escaped.

He continued walking from roof to roof until he found himself at the center of town in front of the old chapel. They had tried to just demolish it and rebuild but the people in Fortuna had been strictly against it, saying the chapel was their only still standing hope that what happened with the savior would not come back. It was of no use now. The people of Fortuna came to pray outside the gate during worship but somehow he thought it pointless. How could someone believe in a god who twisted people's thoughts to the point of insanity? Although it wasn't the worshiped who was at fault. It was the worshiper.

Nero felt a shudder run through him as he jumped over the closed gates. He landed on the other side silently and walked straight for the back of the building. Ever since this happened Nero had been staying away from religion even more. He had thought it a joke before but now, well this kind of worship made it like a virus. Nero sat on the steps in the back of the Chapel looking up at the sky. It was winter in Fortuna and the air had grown stale and cold. Unlike other places it didn't snow here. It didn't snow like it didn't rain or get too hot. Fortuna was like a green house. The temperature never got out of hand so the people would always be happy and it was always sunny. There was never any overcast in Fortuna. People lived off of sunscreen in the warmer seasons and lived in their animal skin coats in the colder seasons. Nero looked down at the stone his feet were sitting on before he fell back, lying on the ground. Maybe he would go check the inside of the building.

"It's probably rotting." He muttered to himself shutting his eyes.

DanteXNero

Nero was aware of many things when he woke up from his short nap; One: He was fucking freezing, Two: his head was spinning, and three: Something was being jabbed in his side repeatedly. He opened his eyes slowly seeing it was still dark and he was still on the steps. Nero glanced to his side with one eye fully opened and saw a small boy kicking him in the side. Okay so that answered all of his questions but one. Why was his head spinning?

"Quit it." Nero muttered in an angry voice. The child froze, clearly startled before he backed up a few paces, dropped the stick he was using to jab Nero in the side, turned, and ran off. Nero groaned and put his hand on his head. His body was stiff because of the cold and now his ribs hurt from that kid. The cold was probably what made his head nearly swim in dizziness because he wasn't used to sleeping in the cold. "I'm gonna get sick." He told himself even though he never did. He stood up slowly, making sure he didn't fall over and turned to the chapel. "Might as well see what's inside after this long."

It had been the whole year when neither Kyrie nor Nero came close to it. Kyrie was mostly afraid and Nero mostly fed up with the whole thing, but now he wanted to see how it had changed- if it had changed. Somewhere deep down he was afraid that it had changed. He knew it wouldn't make any difference if it did. Nero walked up to the door and pushed on it. The door slowly creaked open and Nero walked in. The chapel was completely ruined. The pews were thrown everywhere and falling apart and the alter in the front was completely crushed. Nero looked to his left and saw the statue of Sparda crumbled in a heap. It was lit up by the ray of moonlight shining through the whole in the glass ceiling. He hadn't realized it before, but he and Dante really tore the place apart. He didn't blame people for not using it. Nero exited the building after a good half an hour so he could make his way back to his home. His slunk around corners and into alleys where he could watch the other people out late at night jump five feet in the air at his presence. He waved them off and walked by without saying anything. After he had a major flash back about Dante he could care less about the ones who were out too late.

Nero came up to the front of his house, passing through the small garden Kyrie had kept trimmed before walking up to his door and taking out his key. He looked behind him, taking one last look at his surroundings and a sense of discomfort fell over him. Every time he looked at something that reminded him of Kyrie he would get like this. It might have just been the break up that hurt him and maybe he'd get over it. Honestly they had ended on good terms so he shouldn't be bothered, but somehow he knew that if she wasn't close enough that she would be in danger again. Shaking his head at his own stupidity he turned and unlocked his door. The key turned in the door with a sharp click which seemed to reverberate through his body. Those days it seemed to do that a lot. Most of the time he left the door unlocked because no one in Fortuna stole things from a house that had basically nothing in it. The thieves centered more towards the richer part of the city.

Nero entered his house silently barely making a sound except for the rustling of him taking off his coat. The second voice in his head grumbled and he agreed. He was tired as well even though he had just taken a nap. Even though this was true Nero found himself passing the stairs and walking towards the kitchen. He rarely ate at such a late hour, even when he missed dinner. His stomach just didn't settle food well at late hours. Even though he knew this he still opened the fridge and took out leftovers from his lunch. It was nothing special, just some steak with potatoes and mushrooms. Honestly it was more of a dinner than a lunch but he didn't care. He opened the container and grabbed a fork from the drawer before he silently made his way into the living room.

He sat down with his food and ate silently. The TV wasn't turned on, the radio wasn't on, and his iPod was sitting on the table in front of him also turned off. By the time the container was empty Nero felt like he was ready to pass out. His body felt heavy and the swimming in his head hadn't stopped. It had actually gotten stronger the longer he was awake. He felt like if he just slept a little longer it would go away, but he couldn't sleep. His body was jumpy and his muscles were tense. Looking down at his arm he realized at that point that his bringer was dimmer than usual.

"W-what….?" He mumbled in nearly a whisper. His bringer usually only dimmed when he was either dying or severely injured. So why was it glowing now? It made no sense that it would glow now. Nero stood up rubbing his face with his human hand while he held his bringer in his pocket. 'Maybe I just need sleep.' He thought to himself before he turned for the stairs. He took a few steps, managed to get past the coffee table and couch, then he paused. A small ticking sound could be heard, like a paper clip hitting wood. It was a steady beat that resounded in his head. He stopped breathing then, waited….

_Tick… Tick…_

There it was again, twice this time. Nero waited for it to happen again. He tried to see where it was coming from but his mind felt like it was in water. The sound echoed and seemed like it was all around him at once. Trying to figure out where the sound echoed from was like trying to find out where the speakers in a surround sound were. It was nearly impossible. Then Nero felt himself strike out at the sudden feel of someone's hand on his shoulder. His instincts had taken over and he was now standing over someone with his devil bringer raised and ready to strike.

"Whoa there kid. Nice to see you too." Nero heard that low, rough voice sound from under him. His muscles seemed to relax physically and he dropped his hand.

"Old man." Nero confirmed when Dante nodded. "Don't do that." Nero said instead of what he wanted to say. '…scared the shit outta me…' He thought standing up shakily. Dante noticed the way Nero was acting and looked at him questioningly.

"Had too much to drink?" Was what Nero punched him in the arm for that left a bruise the size of Alabama.

"I'm too young to drink idiot." Nero said and backed up, sitting on the couch. "What are you doing here?" He asked trying to cover up the underlying happiness that was building inside him from seeing the old man. "I called your office to ask something and Trish said you were away on a job." Nero explained and he put his head in his hands feeling an overwhelming pain burst through his scull before vanishing. Dante scoffed.

"I told them I had a job and I did. I finished a few hours ago." Dante said as he sat down on the chair across from Nero. "I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by. Thought tracking down your new place was one helluva job." Then Dante paused and though Nero had barely been paying attention before the silence attracted his attention even more than Dante's voice did. He looked up seeing Dante looking at him with a calculating look. "You alright there kid? You look like the walking dead." Dante asked and Nero rolled his eyes.

"I'm fine. Just dying of boredom. There's nothing to do in this town." He said then stood up. "If you're here to visit then you can sleep on the couch for tonight. Blankets in the closet at the end of the hall." Nero pointed towards the hallway where the kitchen was. "I'm getting some sleep." Nero mumbled walking for the stairs with just barely noticeable shakiness. He could feel Dante's eyes on his back but he ignored them as he climbed the stairs, his pride winning over his concern for his own health.

Right at that moment the room seemed to tip and Nero's head began to swim and spin. Nero knew that if he showed his weakness now then Dante would never let him live it down. Nero didn't want Dante to think he was weak. But he couldn't feel his knees now. His body seemed to grow numb and his eyes fogged over. Nero knew that the fight with his body was a battle he was going to lose. He didn't know what was wrong but the second voice in the back of his head was showing him pictures of him tumbling down the stairs. It was like it was foreseeing his future. His knees grew weak from the vertigo and he slid down on the stairs trying not to fall. In the end though, even before Dante could blink an eye Nero was at the bottom of the stairs.

"Nero!" Dante yelled his name and was at his side in that moment. Nero sat up slowly holding his head. His body felt heavy and there was now a deep churning in his stomach. "Kid, hell if you weren't feeling right then you should'a told me." Dante said his voice filled with concern. Though only people who knew him could tell. Nero opened his mouth to answer but all that came out was air.

Nero picked himself up with enough speed Dante actually jumped before he propelled himself down the hallway and into the bathroom. His stomach just couldn't hold onto whatever was making his stomach do surfing tricks. He vomited into the toilet all his dinner and everything before that. Most of the content that left his stomach wasn't the nasty rancid color of vomit but a deep grey almost black color. It didn't seem to have sustenance to it either. It felt like he was vomiting water and not his chunky mess of a dinner. By the time he finally managed to stop vomiting he was so tired that he actually nearly fell asleep on the toilet bowl.

"Hell if I knew you were going to drug the boredom away I would've asked to join in earlier." Dante's voice came from the doorway. Nero simply growled at him before he slumped to the side against the sink cabinet. Nero heard Dante sigh and walk over to him.

"If you wanted me to carry you upstairs you should have just asked. I might not be the best gentleman but I can pull off the butler thing pretty well." Dante said sarcastically as he lifted Nero from the floor. Nero's head began to spin again and he had to hold it to make sure they weren't actually spinning in circles. "Seriously though kid. What the hell happened to you?" Dante asked again and this time Nero didn't answer. He knew that something was wrong but he couldn't figure out what. Dante seemed to notice that fact and said nothing more to him until they arrived upstairs. He set him on the bed and looked around before turning to Nero and smirking. "If you're dying remember to scream 'I'm on fire.'" Dante teased before walking out. Nero would've punched him at that moment but he couldn't even move.

'I'm gonna kill him when I'm better.' Nero thought before he was dragged into the depths of sleep.

DanteXNero

Nero woke up, his body sore and his lungs burning. He grumbled to himself about things just getting 'oh so fucking better' before sitting up in bed. His head spun but he refused to lie back down on the bed. Slipping his legs from under the covers he put them on the floor, feeling the cold wood underneath his feet. His devil bringer drifted from its place on the bed to his head which felt like something was about to explode out of it. Nero knew he couldn't get sick. Being in the same room as Kyrie when she had bronchitis was exhibit A. She had been urging him to leave but he wouldn't. In the end Kyrie got better and he didn't catch anything. So obviously this wasn't a mere human sickness and Nero had a feeling it wasn't going to go away on its own. Also, because he never got sick he didn't have any medication. None. He hadn't had the need for it and when Kyrie bought it she would always loan it out to her friends who never gave it back. Some friends she had… but that just meant that now Nero had a killer head ache and nothing to make it go away with.

Nero stood from his bed slowly, his head pounding like a metronome beating on the inside of his head. After he got his bearings he made his way for the door. Last night was mostly a blur but he did remember one thing; Dante had arrived the previous night. Nero felt his heart speed up, which didn't help the pounding in his head. Thinking of the red clad devil always seemed to make him nervous. Nero wasn't sure if it was the fact that he didn't want to act like an idiot in front of him or he just had performance issues. And no, he didn't mean _those _performance issues.

Once Nero had reached the stairs he closed his eyes. His stomach did flips while he looked down the steps to his living room. Slowly, he made his way down the stairs with his eyes closed. He could hear Dante's snoring from his place on the stairs.

'The old man stayed the night?' Nero thought to himself as his foot made contact with the plush carpet of the floor. He sighed lightly, opening his eyes and turning his head to see Dante lying on the couch. Nero felt his stomach do another flip, but he didn't think it was because he was sick. 'Why the hell am I feeling like this?' He thought to himself as he nearly stumbled over to Dante. "Old man…" He breathed weakly. He leaned over on the arm of the chair looking at Dante who was stretched out over his couch. Dante managed to make the couch look small compared to him. The man was just that tall. "Old man." Nero called again becoming a tad impatient. Dante shifted in his sleep but didn't make any signs that he was awake. Nero glared at him before his knees buckled under him and he crumbled to the floor. "Fuck!" He cursed before looking over at Dante's face, which was now level with his. "Dante if you don't get up I'm going to punch a hole through your stomach." He growled clearly in pain. Dante shifted in his sleep and groaned something incoherent before he opened his eyes.

"Kid," He mumbled and Nero could tell he was not a happy camper when he woke up in the morning. Nero rolled his eyes at Dante's tone and leaned his head against the arm of the couch. "What do you want?" Dante finally asked as he woke up a bit more.

"I want my head to stop screaming and my lungs to stop burning." Nero said breathily his voice filled with pain even though he tried to hide it. Dante sat upright, a little more at attention at what he had said. "This hurts worse than getting stabbed in the chest with a sword…" He admitted and Dante leaned over the couch to see him leaning on it.

"Damn kid, how'd you get downstairs?" He asked and Nero grimaced.

"I'm not a cripple idiot, I'm just in pain. I walked down them like a normal person would." He said flatly and Dante smirked at him making Nero even more irritated.

"Well you're not normal but okay." Dante said and Nero growled at him. "Hey calm your nuts kid, can't fuck around with you if you're going to act like a stiff ass the whole time." Dante said and Nero only kept glaring at him before Dante rubbed the back of his neck and got up off the couch. "Fine, I'll call Trish out here to have a look at you." Dante said and Nero groaned. "What?" Was Dante's slightly irritated reply as he watched Nero turn his attention to the carpet.

"Can't stay here anymore…" Nero mumbled and Dante had to strain to hear him. Dante stooped down onto his haunches to be level with him.

"What does that mean?" He asked and a light pink color covered the bridge of Nero's nose.

"I haven't paid the rent because the knights aren't paying me enough anymore so… they're evicting me." He spoke softly and Dante looked at him in confusion.

"What about your girl? What was her name, Kyrie?" Dante said and Nero's blush fell from his face as his frown deepened. "What happened kid?" Dante asked and Nero refused to look at him.

"She left." Was all he said and grit his teeth together so he wouldn't show any other emotions that might make him seem weaker in front of Dante. Dante arched an eye brow and waited for him to continue. Nero felt weak even though he had just slept the night away. His breath way heavy and he felt light headed even when he was sitting on the floor. He took a while to answer. "She said she only saw me as a brother and told me she was leaving with a group of friends and that she wouldn't be coming back for a while. She hasn't contacted me since she left four months ago…" He trailed off closing his eyes in pain. His lungs burned every time he took in a breath, his head spun every time he spoke. Dante stood up and nodded.

"Alright kid, you're coming back to my place." At Dante's comment Nero looked up at him with shocked eyes. "Can't leave you out in the cold to fuck up your life. Don't want you endin' up like me." Dante said and Nero rolled his eyes. Before Nero could reject him, Dante picked the teen boy up bridal style and Nero felt his stomach flip and his insides flutter.

"Old man…" He groaned as Dante turned for the door. "Weapons are upstairs…" He muttered and Dante chuckled.

"I know. I'm taking you out to my car first." Dante replied and Nero only closed his eyes. This was too good to be true. He must have been dreaming. But fuck, if he woke up now he'd be ten times as embarrassed for thinking this scenario up. Nero closed his eyes and drifted into unconsciousness in a matter of seconds. Dante glanced down at Nero when Nero turned into him and nuzzled his face into Dante's chest.

"Damn kid. Don't tempt me." Dante said already knowing that Nero was asleep. He placed the teen devil hunter into his car, closed the door and made his way back inside. He glanced around the house, now noticing how bland it was before going upstairs to grab Nero's weapons.

Dante knew what was wrong with Nero. Nero only had one problem to explain he was feeling the way he was. It was called puberty. Well demon puberty. Demons mature slower than a human and since human's mature faster than demons a half demon goes through half the phase of puberty at around the ages of twelve to fifteen and the rest happens all at once when the half demon becomes an adult. This doesn't usually happen until their early twenties or even as early at nineteen. Nero was just the unlucky one out of one hundred that goes through the process early. Dante had to feel bad for him. He had hated going through puberty his second time because his lungs had literally burst because of the pressure. Hopefully that didn't happen to Nero. It hadn't happened to his brother so Dante figured Nero had a good chance.

Going into Nero and Kyrie's bedroom he spotted Nero's gun lying on the desk in the corner of the room and his sword case against the wall next to the desk. He grabbed them, making his way out of the house slowly before closing the door, not bothering to lock it and got into the driver's side. Nero was still out like a light in the seat next to him, his head against the window and his hair covering his flushed face. Dante shook his head at the boy before tossing Nero's weapons in the back seat and driving off for the port. He hadn't imagined things would turn out this way, but with the way it turned out, Dante was one lucky son of a bitch. His inner demon purred at the thought of having the half demon moving in with them. Of course Dante was glad too, but not nearly as glad as the pictures his inner demon was showing him. He'd have to take care of his second problem when he got Nero inside the office and at least into bed. Dante's eyes widened at particular arousing image and he tried extremely hard not to blush but a light dust of pink fell along his nose. Okay, maybe the boy was only going to make it to the couch…

Quote of the week: "Just keep moving forward and don't give a shit about what anybody thinks. Do what you have to do for you." –Johnny Depp


	13. Clues

Chapter 13: Clues

Nero pulled up in front of Devil May Cry slowly, the bike coming to a stop before he turned it off. The amulet in his pockets poked lightly at his hip as he hopped off the bike and took off his helmet. He made his way into the office and glanced at Dante's desk briefly before turning and taking off his jacket. Dante's trench coat was draped over the whole desk and there was a giant hole blown through the two tails. His gun Ivory was also sitting on his desk, the barrel open and tipped on its side. Nero knew that Dante was always pissed when his coat was ruined and he didn't want to see the pissed half demon when he came into the room. Although; he also had the nagging feeling that the man wasn't even home yet, despite his scent having been newly spread throughout the building. Had Dante been in a hurry to get out of the office before Nero got home? Or was it something…

"Sparda!" He heard the cry from behind him and he had about a Mila-second to choose between two options, one; turn to see what it was and just barely avoid getting attacked if the voice were trying to assault him, or two; Evade the attacker and haul ass outta the office without even checking who it was. He settled for, well both actually.

He turned around, seeing a human-like creature with white eyes and serrated teeth. The demon had brown matted hair that looked like it was falling out and it's skin was nearly white. It was a sickly grey color that managed to make Nero wrinkle his nose in disgust. The demon was coming at him with startling speed, its legs pushing itself off of the ground and making it fly across the room. Nero stepped to the side watching as the demon barreled straight into the coat rack that he had recently standing in front of. It crashed into the wall and sent pieces of wood everywhere. Nero could have laughed at the lack of control that the demon possessed. With that he took turned to take his leave, rather quickly, but found himself glancing back at Dante's desk.

If Dante had been in a hurry to leave so he wouldn't get caught by this demon, then he wouldn't have time to grab his gun or his coat. Hell, it looked like he was in the middle of taking it apart when the demon barged in. Nero glanced over at the demon to see it recovering and he quickly ran over to the desk and grabbed Dante's things before sprinting for the back door. Just as his hand reached for the knob the demon smacked into him; sending him straight into the door and knocking the breath out of him. This demon might have looked like it was on its death bed, but it had the mass of an elephant. Nero felt a few of his ribs crack and pain exploded in his head when he realized that the demon had grabbed his demon arm and was trying to rip it right off his body. He held his breath and clenched his teeth closed so he wouldn't scream in pain as the demon broke his shoulder and continued to try and tear his arm off. When he managed to nearly ignore the pain he flicked the barrel of Dante's gun closed with his wrist and shot blindly at the demon behind him. He felt muscle tearing now. He shot again. This time the bullet hit its target and Nero felt the demon fly off of him screaming in pain. His arm fell to the side and he fell to the floor gasping, far too much in pain to actually scream. Then he realized why Dante had fled so quickly… The demon got right back up off the floor and turned to him again, its eyes held nothing but anger as it stared down at him. No, it did not glare, just stared with utter hatred before it went for him again. And Nero shot it, straight in the head again sending it back to the floor.

Then he got up, his arm protested but he still forced himself to his feet and reached for the door with his human hand. Throwing the door open he started running. He made a sharp turn down into an alleyway as he ran, making sure to keep turning and confusing whatever he was running from. He turned into another alleyway and saw emergency stairs which he jumped up to pulled down and climb up. Once he was up to the roof he ran off a few miles and slumped down onto one of the flat roofs' floors. This would have been a good place to stay and wait for Dante to look for him, but it was the middle of the day and people might find him up here. After he took a short break to catch his breath he stood up, careful of his arm, which he would feel the beginning of numbness starting to take effect. He could also feel blood dripping down his arm and he knew why. Even though he told himself not to look at the damage he knew what it was. Bones were shattered and probably lodged through his skin in many places. The way that demon had dealt with him was like a savage beast protecting its territory.

Nero ran his human hand through his hair and continued walking. The only place he could go now was Love Planet. Nero had a hunch that Dante probably wouldn't be there. Not only that but he probably wouldn't be allowed inside… Okay so Love Planet was out. What was next on his list of places he knew would be safe for him to go to? Jerry's place was out of the question. Rose had a child staying above the pizza shop and would hate it if he came to their doorstep with a mangled arm. Then there was … Well he had never asked the girls for their addresses in case something like this happened. There had to be something that Dante left for him. Some clue…

Nero let out an irritated sigh before hopping down to a lower building. There was nowhere else he could go. He'd kill himself first before he went to the hospital. He hated hospitals more than he hated demons, namely because they liked to poke and prod him a little too much. They had fun inspecting his arm and torturing him until Dante had to pull him out of the room so he wouldn't kill anyone. Not that he really would but, better safe than sorry.

Nero walked silently, lost in thought when he remembered that he still had Dante's coat thrown over his shoulder. He pulled it off of his shoulder and looked at it before an idea popped into his head. He barely knew the guy sure, but Dante talked to him more than Nero talked to Jerry. It'd be a long shot if Dante was really there, but at least the guy would know if Dante had left him any information. With that he made his way to the hunting shop on the other side of town.

DanteXNero

Dante paced the wooden floor of the hunting shop impatiently. He knew that Nero would have come back to that damned demon still in the office. If Dante had finished his job by killing every one of those bastards instead of leaving them this wouldn't have happened. It's not like it was part of the job he was offered. No, his job was simply to exterminate some of the stray Shadow feeders that had been conjured up by some stupid religious people who thought that demons should rule the human world again. Luckily for Dante, they were doing it completely wrong. So he had left the authorities to clean up two human bodies and about a dozen or so shadow feeders. Dante felt goose bumps form on his arms at the thought of having your shadow mutilated and eaten, leaving your body to feel the effects. He hadn't realized they had summoned a new group before they had gotten 'eaten' and died. Either way, he was only told to deal with the specific demons, thinking the others were too low class to hurt even a fly. Too bad he hadn't realized that they could literally rip your limbs off. When Dante had gotten back to the shop he had to take off his coat and do an once-over on his coat to see how much he'd have to pay for the gaping hole in the tails. Then the demon had burst in and Dante had left his gun behind because holy fuck, if that thing had gotten ahold of him, he'd have one helluva time getting it off without breaking something. It had broken his washing machine already and now he had to replace that.

"Where is he?" Dante murmured to himself and the man sitting behind the counter of the hunting shop looked up from working on repairing a gun.

"He probably got held up by the demon, it's not like he's Sparda himself." He said then realized what he had said and cleared his throat. "He's probably on his way." He said and Dante looked away from staring at him with a blank expression.

"Yeah, let's hope you're right Joe." He said and continued pacing. Time ticked past and the sun lowered in the sky. Dante didn't know what was worse, the fact that Nero was late, or the fact that he didn't know if Nero was okay or not. Probably both. Dante shook his head in irritation and Joe looked up at his finished product before setting it down and standing.

"Look Dante; if you're that worried go look for the guy, he can't be that far away." Joe offered and Dante made a face that couldn't quite be called confused or angry. He turned away from Joe to face the door.

"If he's not here in ten minutes I'm going to look for him." Dante said and sat down on the chair Joe had provided him when he had first came in.

He often did that when Dante came in to talk. Minutes passed as Dante shifted in his chair. At one point Joe threw a magazine at him telling him to read it. Dante had looked at Joe in confusion and down at the magazine before he sighed and opened it. Dante was deep into reading about the mating calls of the northern white tailed deer when the door opened, setting off the bell above the door and Nero stumbled into the shop nearly falling over in exhaustion. Dante had literally dropped the magazine at seeing the state of his mate. He jumped to his feet as Nero looked over to him, a bit of hope filling his clouded eyes before he collapsed to his knees and into Dante's awaiting arms.

"Shit." Dante cursed before looking over at Joe with angry eyes. "Get me the first aid from the back, some warm water and towels." He asked and Joe was gone in an instant. Dante laid Nero down on the floor and got up to flip the sign on the door to 'closed' so no one would come in. To make certain that no one would see when he was working on Nero. Of course the police knew that this happened because Dante was one of the most well-known demon hunters in Capulet. They would have no problem with seeing Dante messing with bloodied bodies or chopping up demons in the street. Even then, most people in Capulet were used to seeing demons and blood and such around. It was the tourists that he had to worry about. Joe ran back into the main room with the towels and first aid kit.

"The bucket's fillin' with water." He said shortly and Dante nodded.

"Shit. I'm no doctor but, I think his arm needs to be broken again." Dante muttered clenching his teeth together. He looked at Nero's pained face while Joe sighed quietly.

"I'll hold him down." Joe said and Dante put his hand up as Joe bent down.

"Don't, he's too strong for you to hold him down." Dante said and sat down on Nero's hips before feeling his arm to see how bad the damage was.

Nero was bleeding badly, his chest was rising and falling but it was barely noticeable and the closer Dante looked he could see bruises forming on the poor kids face. He shook his head and began to take off the young male's coat to which he got a few groans and sharp intakes of breath. When he finally managed to get it off his demon arm Dante felt his heart drop into his feet. The bone in Nero's upper arm had been forced upwards with so much force that the bone was protruding from where his shoulder blade and collarbone should have connected. It was also twisted at an impossible angle and pulled out of place so far that it looked like only the skin was holding it together. He could tell that Nero's elbow was also broken and that his wrist was pulled out of place and bent backwards. Together it looked like someone took a dolls arm and tried poorly to put it together with Nero's body. Not to mention all of the blood that was seeping from the wounds. Dante knew that Nero didn't like hospitals. Hell he knew he'd rather die, but if he didn't get this professionally taken care of then he was going to have more problems down the road if he actually lived through this.

"Nero you're a pain in the ass." He grumbled to himself as he took hold of the younger demon hunters arm in his hand firmly.

With an intake of breath Dante jerked his arm back, Nero's arm following. It happened quickly, in the blink of an eye. The bone sliding back into place as well as the other breaks above where Dante was holding and Nero awoke with a start, his hips and back trying to push off of the ground as he screamed in pain. Tears poured down his face at the pain of bone rubbing against bone and tendons. Joe cringed at the sickening sound the bone made as it was put back in place. Dante frowned and tired not to lose his concentration at Nero's pained scream as he waited until Nero passed out again to take care of the other half of Nero's arm. Nero screamed as Dante reset each one of the breaks in his arm carefully but quickly, making sure to make it as painless as possible for the blue clad devil hunter. At the last break Nero tried to scream but coughed up blood before his head fell back against the floor and he stopped moving, his body went completely limp and Dante's eyes widened when he realized that Nero had stopped breathing. A string of profanities flew from the older hunters' mouth as he got up off of the boy.

"Go get that water and a steak knife!" He demanded as Joe gave him a confused look but turned quickly and ran off to the back room. Dante turned to Nero again with an angry expression. _'_I'm gonna kill that damned demon_.' _Dante thought as his rage grew.

Dante grabbed a towel from the floor that hadn't been bloodied before he tied it around Nero's shoulder. Then Nero made probably the worst sound that Dante had heard him make. Nero's mouth opened in pain and all that came out was a gurgling noise. Nero was drowning in his own blood, which meant that some of his ribs were broken and stabbing through his lungs.

DanteXNero

Nero's lungs burned. He knew he was still conscious because he could still feel everything. Every time one of his breaks was broken again he had screamed even though it hurt to breath. Sometime through it all his hearing was lost because of the pain. There was only a ringing in his ears. Some of his ribs were healed already, but every time he moved or screamed the ones that continually moved couldn't heal. At the last break one of his broken ribs punctured his lungs and he was blinded with pain. He hadn't wanted to move after that. He just wished Dante would fix him. He only wanted the pain to stop. It seemed like forever until his hearing came back and the pain in his body numbed enough for him to breathe again. The blood that had flooded his lungs had somewhat solidified into mucus, making it a little easier for him to breath. As his hearing was returning he could faintly hear Dante. He could hear his voice calling his name. He needed to answer, but he didn't trust his lungs to allow him to speak. Slowly he pried one eye open and pain exploded in the back of his head. The lights in the room he was in were too bright for his eyes. He must have a concussion as well as broken bones.

Nero groaned as he closed his eyes again, hoping the light would go away so he wouldn't be in pain. Dante's voice came again and Nero pried his eyes opened to look at him. Dante's face was very pale and showed deep concern to which Nero had never seen before. Nero lifted his human arm up and caressed Dante's face to comfort him. Dante took the kid's hand in his own and put it on the floor.

"Don't move Nero." Dante said and leaned close to Nero. "I need you to trigger Nero, you're dying." Dante said and Nero looked at him confused. He felt fine. His breaks in his body didn't bother him anymore and he could breathe relatively fine.

"I feel fine now." Nero spoke and Dante shook his head his face stone cold serious.

"Don't try and talk. I need you to trigger now Nero, if you don't you'll die." Dante said and Nero looked at him very confused. He could talk, so why was Dante saying 'don't try and talk' when he could say things fine. Then it struck Nero like a pole of ice going up his spine. He thought he was talking and his brain believed it, but he really wasn't. "Nero, you can do it. You have to trigger." Dante was practically pleading now and Nero knew that he didn't have much time left.

Nero knew he didn't have much power left and the last time he triggered he didn't control it very well, but he needed to. Nero tried to gather his inner demon which was sleeping deep inside him, trying to protect itself. He would say he was having an inner battle with himself but he would be lying, he was having a revolution. His demon didn't want to come out.

'We're both going to die!_'_ Nero thought viciously. His demon made a huffing noise and showed its displeasure at being disturbed by sending violent pictures at him. Nero ground his teeth together and pulled it up to the front of his mind, forcing it to come out. He had always had problems with his demon since he had hit his second puberty. Now he was going to put it in its place if they were going to live. It was going to listen to him from now on.

His body triggered at this point and violently. Dante was thrown backwards into the display case before he could catch himself and the supplies around them were also thrown about the room. Nero let out a monstrous yowl as his body was hurriedly healed. Bones set back to their original placement and his lungs cleared themselves of all the excess blood that filled them. Nero writhed on the floor as he fought to control his inner demon. The one thing he didn't want to do was wreck the shop that he was currently in.

'Listen to me!_' _Nero thought angrily as his demon clawed at the floor trying to take total control. It twisted around and was trying to get on its hands and knees. Nero clenched his teeth together so hard he could taste metal. "_I said listen to me!"_ Nero's voice had changed to a more dark and sinister tone as he ran his hand through the floor of the store. His demon made one last cry of defeat as Nero took control of his devil trigger and sat on his right arm and knees. _"Good demon…" _He praised his demon and it growled in irritation. Nero let out a long sigh as he sat up, the sigh sounding more like a growl and nothing like an actual sigh. Dante, who had been recovering from the trip to the other side of the room, stood up and inspected Nero's devil trigger carefully, making sure that the kid had everything under control. _"That was one helluva demon." _Nero grumbled as his injuries finally finished healing. Dante walked towards him and kneeled down next to him, putting his hand on the other's shoulder.

"You can detrigger now Nero." Dante said slowly and Nero looked over at him.

"_Dante…"_ Nero mumbled as he let his trigger go. Nero's clothes were bloodied and torn from his run in with the demon, but all in all he looked better than he did. He only had to deal with the dried blood all over his chest and arm. Dante helped him sit down and peel his blue muscle shirt from his skin and clean off the blood that was caked into his skin. Neither of them spoke and Joe could tell that they were having a little 'moment' so he made his way into the back and got fresh hot water to clean off Nero's blood stains. "Sorry you had to deal with my pain in the ass ways Dante." He said and Dante smirked at his comment.

"Yeah well, doctors are the only people who care enough about demons in this town." Dante moved around Nero to get the blood off of his back. "I hate goin' to hospitals too kid." He said briefly and they sat silently for a while just tending to Nero's bloody body. Joe came back in with a bucket of hot water and set it down next to them. Nero looked up at him in question before smiling.

"Sorry for causing you so much trouble…" Nero apologized and looked at the hole in the floor. "I'll uh, pay you back for the repairs on the floor." He said scratching the side of his nose in embarrassment. Joe shrugged with and uncaring expression.

"I've had holes in my floor before. This is a hunting shop ya know." He said while Dante dipped a corner of the towel in the water and scrubbed a dried patch of blood off of Nero's back. Nero flinched at the temperature change of the towel before relaxing. Dante looked up at him in question.

"It's hot." He complained and Dante rolled his eyes before continuing to scrub his back.

"Yeah, it's hot. It should help you calm down. You're stiffer than a board." Dante said and Nero huffed but stayed still. As Dante cleaned his back Nero relaxed a little. However; even though the way Dante was cleaning his back was relaxing, he couldn't help but be troubled. He needed to pick up Thera from the ice cream parlor and he had no clothes to wear. Even his pants were covered in blood.

"I have to pick Thera up at three O'clock." Nero said and Dante's hand froze on his back. "I'm fine now old man, you don't need to baby me." Nero said and Dante cleared his throat.

"I'm not babying you, but it's not like you have any extra clothes hiding in here somewhere." Dante said confirming Nero's thoughts. "And you can't borrow mine either. They won't fit you." Dante said and Nero blushed lightly.

"I wasn't going to ask to borrow your clothes idiot." Nero said glaring at the wall in front of him. Dante finished his back and threw the bloody towel onto the floor before making his way in front of Nero to kneel in front of him.

"I'll go pick her up and we can go get you some clothes on the way home. I'll drop her off at Rose's and you can walk over there when you get dressed." Dante said and picked up another towel before tossing it at him. "Wash your hair first. You look like you just ate a deer raw." Dante said before standing up and picking up his coat and gun from the floor. "I'll be back late after I drop Thera off. I'm going to take care of that demon. It's probably following your trail now. Lucky for you it's blind and can't track for shit." Dante said and turned from him to make his way for the door. Nero looked at the towel in his hand and back to Dante before sighing.

"Be careful." Was all Nero said as Dante opened the door. Dante paused in the door and turned to Nero with a grin.

"Come on kid, when have I ever been careful?" He asked and Nero gave a short laugh before returning the grin.

"Right. Kick its ass for me!" Nero said as Dante exited the building and the door shut behind him.

Sighing and shaking his head Nero took the towel he was holding and put it on the floor next to him. Then he pulled the still clean bucket of water over to him and dunked his hair in it. Rubbing it in between his hands and ridding it of its red tint. When he pulled his head from the bucket be grabbed the towel from the floor and towel dried his hair most of the way, leaving it a little damp so that it wouldn't frizz. Nero carefully stood up with the bloodied towels and turned to the man that had helped Dante.

"Um, where should I put these?" He asked and the man gave him a smile.

"Just follow me, I have to take care of the water and clean up the floor anyway." He said and Nero glanced down to see the floor covered in blood. He made a disgusted face before looking at the man in sympathy.

"Sorry. I'll help clean it up." Nero said and the man shrugged before picking up the bucket and walking off. Nero followed feeling a little awkward at the situation. He knew the man sure, but not enough to feel comfortable around him.

"Joe." The man suddenly said and Nero jumped.

"What?" He asked and the man turned to him with a smile while they kept walking.

"The name's Gerard." He said walking up to a sink in the back room and pouring out the water. "Most people just call 'pro Joe' because I'm a good shot when hunting. Dante just calls me Joe." Joe said and Nero nodded.

"Well makes me easier talk to you. Don't have to call you mister or sir." Nero said cracking a grin. Joe made a noise saying he heard as he rinsed the bucket and turned around.

"Just dump the towel there." He said gesturing towards the corner. Nero did so leaning down and dumping them on the floor. He felt something poking him in the side and he blinked as he realized it was the amulet that he had snatched from the woman at the school.

Nero took the amulet out of his pocket and saw that the glass was still intact keeping the liquid inside but the blood inside had turned a glowing purple color. Nero put his face in his devil arm and wiped his face in frustration. He had forgotten to give the amulet Dante before he left. Well he was busy with trying not to die, but he still should've remembered. Now the liquid inside was doing something weird and Nero would have to deal with it himself. Nero sighed and stood up before turning around to go back into the front room.

"You look like someone just set your house on fire." Joe commented and Nero glanced back at him before he gripped the amulet in his hand and felt the glass warm up to is touch.

"Something like that." Nero said and looked down at the vial intently. "I don't know what this is but its acting weird. I don't know what it might do if I open it." He explained and Joe nodded shortly leaning against the sink.

"Why not call one of Dante's old partners?" Joe asked Nero as the devil hunter sat down on one of the chairs that were conveniently placed in the corner of the room.

"I could but I don't have their numbers. I used to know Trish's, but she moved recently and has a new number." He explained and Joe nodded thoughtfully. After a moment his face grew confused as if he were deep in thought before realization dawned on him.

"Do you know what Trish's last name is?" Joe asked as he got up from leaning against the sink to go into the shop. Nero followed in confusion and thought for a moment.

"Well she doesn't really have one that I know of, but she uses the fake name Smith." He explained and Joe dumped a giant book on his desk which Nero read as 'regulars and big shots'. Joe opened the book and Nero noticed that it was just a binder with papers inserted. For it being so slow all the time, he sure had a lot of customers.

"Look through this and find her name while I clean the floor. I don't want it to stain and have people asking me if I've turned into a murderer." He explained as he left the book there for Nero to look through before he went into the back to fill the bucket up again.

DanteXNero

Dante pulled up to the clothing store that Nero usually went to, to get his clothes. The store was named 'JDElectronica' which Dante thought was a stupid name, but he had to admit, they had some pretty fucking awesome clothes. The store was one of the largest in Capulet that sold clothing. It sold a variety of clothing namely for teens and young adults so Dante really didn't mind shopping there. Teens that walked into the store with him always gave him weird looks asking silently why the hell he was going in, but he didn't care. He needed to get clothes for Nero before the demon found him.

Dante parked his car in front of the store and got out of his car before making his way into the store. Everything inside was like a rainbow had thrown up on it. There was a color of everything in this store and every shade of every color as far as the eye could see. Dante went over to the men's section and grabbed a new outfit for Nero before paying and leaving. The outfit consisted of dark blue almost black slim fitting ripped jeans with a grey tank top and a blue sweatshirt similar to his old one. With the new clothing Dante headed out to the parlor to pick Thera. He might be really early but right now he really didn't have any other choice. He needed to hurry up and make sure that Nero and Thera were safe. He had no problem dealing with these demons but if they didn't die easily then he wasn't going to put them in danger, especially when Nero was still trying to learn to control his inner demon.

Dante stopped at a red light and looked out the window to his left. Cars sped by him on their way to their homes, work or other places. He stared into space not really thinking about anything when someone honked behind him causing him to jump in surprise. He looked at the light that was now green and shook his head before putting his car in gear and speeding off to the parlor.

Quote of the month: "What's your favourite onomatopoeia?"... "Mine is MICROwave." - Dan Howell


	14. Her First

Chapter 14: Updates and Her first battle

When Dante arrived at the ice cream parlor he saw Thera sitting in the window with Eleni and her mother. He parked his car in a parking space in front of the parlor and threw himself out of the car. As he walked into the shop he watched as Thera laughed at Eleni who was licking some strawberry sunday off of her own nose.

"Maybe you shouldn't have tickled me!" Thera said laughing and clutching her sides. Eleni blushed but still smiled chuckling herself.

"I didn't know I was going to get a spoon full of sunday to the face!" Eleni complained as her mother chuckled offering her a napkin. She took it gently before wiping off the sticky substance. Thera grinned at her as Dante walked up behind her quietly.

Eleni's mother glanced up at him and Dante put his finger's to his lips before reaching his hand out. She looked back at the two as his hand landed on Thera's shoulder. She went ridged before swinging around and nearly punching him in the stomach before she realized who it was. Dante's foot was in mid-step to avoid the attack when she realized who it was. She dropped her fist and pursed her lips.

"Father, you shouldn't do that." She said and he smirked at her.

"But its fun seeing you reaction." He explained and she actually punched him that time. He chuckled before patting her head and looking over to Eleni's mother. "Sorry I'm here earlier. There was a bit of trouble at home and I had to come early." He explained and she nodded her face turning thoughtful.

"Is everything alright?" She asked and he closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and smiling at her.

"It's under control, but we'd better get going." He told her looking down at Thera who gave him an intense look.

"Your job followed you home, didn't it?" She asked and he avoided her eyes and cleared his throat. She shook her head before turning to Eleni. "I'll see you this summer, yeah?" She asked and Eleni nodded throwing her arms around Thera's thin frame.

"Definitely." Eleni pat Thera's back before letting go. "Call me when everything's okay." She demanded and Thera laughed nodding at her before turning to stand.

"See you later in the summer Elle." She called as they walked away. Dante looked down at her with a skeptical look when she used her friends nickname. When they had exited the parlor Dante cracked a grin.

"Elle?" He asked and Thera blushed looking away.

"What's wrong with it? She lets me call her Elle. Is that so bad?" She asked and Dante laughed as they walked to the car. "Is it?" She asked again, demanding him to answer.

"Nah, just amusing to see you using pet names." He joked and she socked him in the shoulder again, only using more strength than she had earlier. Dante rubbed his arm while laughing. "You're getting' strong for such a shorty." He joked again and Thera glared at him while they got into the car. Dante got in the driver's side and Thera sat in the passenger seat.

"Call me shorty again." She dared and Dante just smiled as he pulled out of the parking space.

'She sure did turn out like Nero.' He thought to himself as he pulled out of the parking lot and sped down the nearly empty road.

"So what did you bring home this time?" Thera asked after a brief silence. Dante couldn't help but humor her.

"A puppy." He said and she narrowed her eyes in warning. "Heh, just messin' with ya." He said pausing for a moment before continuing. "I honestly have no idea what I brought home. I know that it's one ugly demon though. It looks like it crawled out of a whole and it broke our washing machine with its bare hands." Dante described the demon while Thera tried to picture it before nodding. "The worst thing is it doesn't know how to stay dead." He finished and she closed her eyes.

"Okay," She said she began. "So we've never seen it before and it's in our house." She confirmed and Dante shook his head.

"It tracked me down after I left the area of my job. It's blind as a bat but it tracks with its nose. I'm thinking it's probably following your dad's trail. He came home after your graduation and ended up almost losing a limb." He explained and Thera looked down at her hands, her gaze calculating. "So he showed up at Joe's gun shop with a mangled arm and I had to get him to devil trigger before he keeled over from blood loss." He explained. Thera looked at him with a questioning gaze and when Dante took a glance at her he could see the fear. "He's still alive." Dante said and she gave a small sigh. "I'm dropping you off at Rose's place; you can stay there with her, her son and your dad until I get back. I'm tracking down that demon and taking care of it." He explained and his hands tightened on the wheel. Thera looked at his hands with concern etched into her features.

"Let me go with you." She pleaded and Dante gave her a humorless laugh.

"Sorry but I already came close to having to watch your dad die in front of me. I'm not risking you too." He said as they stopped at a stop light. Thera looked at him pleading while putting a hand on his arm.

"But father, you said that it doesn't die right? So why not let me take a shot? I can use my powers! If it doesn't work the first time then I'll run. I'm sure I could find my way around the city." She said and Dante looked at her for a moment before the light turned green again. She was a smart girl, smarter than her whole class in fact. Anything that she read she never forgot and what she watched on TV was always in her memory. "I've learned new moves father. I know how to dodge and fight and maneuver. I can even fight almost as well as you!" She exclaimed and Dante clenched his jaw.

"You might be almost as good a fighter as me or your dad, but I don't want anything to happen to you..." He trailed off and she opened her mouth to resent his statement, but he continued. "If anything happens while you're with me then your dad is going to kill me..." He rapped his fingers on the steering wheel and sighed. "Fine. But if _anything_ goes remotely wrong, you're running. I'd rather lose an arm then have you lose your head." He said and Thera smiled at him before turning to face the road.

"Thank you for giving me a chance father." She said and Dante nodded.

"I still need to drop off your dads clothes. His clothes are so bloodied that there's no way he'd be able to go anywhere without people thinking he'd committed murder." Thera chuckled at this and Dante shifted in his seat. "I have to tell him you're with me. If not he'll ask irritating questions." Thera giggled at that. "If he doesn't think its safe enough for you to go then you can't go." Dante said and Thera pouted.

"Wish we could just leave the clothes and run." She said and then a smile spread across her face.

DantexNero

"Where is she?" Nero fidgeted with his shirt on his place in his chair before he gave an irritated sigh and stood up. He had called Trish, gotten a hold of her and was now waiting. Dante would be back soon and there was no point if he got back and Trish showed up at the same time. He had told her it was urgent, but that didn't seem to work when the lady was out on a shopping spree or whatever she called it. He couldn't get a hold of Lady either when he had called so she wouldn't be showing up either.

The bell of Joe's shop chimed and his head flew up to see a blonde head of hair waltzing through the door. Nero had never been so relieved to see her in his life.

"Finally." He mumbled to himself as she walked over taking off her sunglasses to show a shocked expression.

"What the hell happened to you?" She asked her voice laced with laughter. Nero rolled his eyes and sat down on the chair he had been sitting on previously.

"Demon troubled but that's not why I called you." He said and she nodded knowingly.

"Yeah I know. Something about a glowing talon?" She asked and he nodded fishing it out of his pocket.

"It's filled with blood I think." He said handing it to her the string dangling from her hand as she inspected it. "At least that's what I first thought. Then it turned that weird ass color." He explained and she nodded to herself and she put her other hand on her hip.

"Where'd you get it?" She asked as she ran her hand along the glass. Some parts were caked with blood and she rubbed it away with her finger.

"I got it from some creepy looking woman at the elementary." He explained and she looked at him with one eye brow raised silently asking what he meant by weird. "She looked like she walked out of a modeling book and had skin pale enough to blend in with snow. Her hair was a weird color too. It looked black but there was red mixed in with it..." He said and as the words left his mouth his body went still and his thoughts were brought back to Thera's first day of preschool. Adelais... "That woman must have been his mother..." He trailed off confusion settling over his face. "But why would she be at the graduation when he didn't even go to that school?" He asked and Trish looked at him questionably. "Remember the boy we asked you to look into when Thera was having trouble at school?" He asked and she nodded. "Well she looked like him. Except for the eyes. Her eyes were blue, like me and Dante's." He explained and Trish nodded.

"It's a good possibility that their connected, but I wouldn't bet on it. She might have been the parent of another child and just happened to have the same hair color." She said and Nero gave her a skeptical look.

"I don't think so. This woman had the same air about her as her son. Not many people can make demons feel wary of them. No human at least." He said and Trish nodded.

"Well if she were there then why do you think she would be there if her son wasn't at the school anymore?" She asked and he sighed rubbing his temples.

"I don't know. She could have been invited. Her child did have friends that were in Thera's grade you know. Maybe someone invited her to come along." Trish explained and Nero shook his head.

"Than Adelais would have been there too. It doesn't make sense. Why would the mother be there and her son not be." He asked and Trish sighed pocketing the amulet.

"I don't know Nero, maybe she was sent to spy on someone." Trish said walking over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "I know you're worried. I'll take the amulet for a while and see what's up with it. I'll try to figure out if there's anything worthwhile in it. In the meantime why don't you try and breath. You look like you almost died." She said and Nero glared up at her.

"I did almost die." He deadpanned and she blinked for a moment before clearing her throat and turning.

"Just chill Nero. It's not like you to stress over things like this." She said before exiting the shop. Nero sighed and looked at his hand, wondering if he was over reacting to the whole situation.

Just as he stood up to go the back of the shop and ask Joe for some water, the door opened again and Trish tossed him something. Nero caught it in the air and his finger came into contact with fabric. Inspecting what he had caught he looked up and Trish was waving at him.

"Dante dropped them off." She said before closing the door again and high tailing it away from the building.

Nero looked down at the clothes before he heard the revving of an engine and saw Trish speed by on her motorcycle as he looked outside through the window. Nero sighed irritably before turning and making his way to the bathroom in the back of the shop. After getting dressed Nero stepped out of the bathroom looking himself up and down.

"The old man really is perverted..." He mumbled and ignored the fact that Dante had purposely bought him skinny jeans. Joe came in from his place in the alley behind the shop and gave Nero the once over before cracking a grin.

"Dante seems to know what looks good on you." He said and Nero glared at him before blushing furiously and turning away to make his way into the front of the shop.

"Now that I'm not bloody anymore you can open shop again." He said and Joe made a sound of agreement as he passed. He flipped the sign on the door and Nero picked up his torn clothes from the floor before shoving them in the bag that Joe had given him earlier. "Nice talking to you again. I'll probably be back soon. I've gotta go." He said tiredly, opening the door. Joe waved goodbye and Nero made his way to the pizza shop.

DantexNero

Thera shut the door to the car door and stepped around the her father, looking a few yards in front of them to see the same ugly demon that Dante had dealt with earlier in the day. The demons head whipped around at the scent of more demons, its blind eyes boring into Thera's own with rage. Thera shuddered as the demon turned to her, its body hunched over at an almost impossible angle before Dante placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Just like in training." Dante reminded her and Thera let out a long breath, not taking her eyes off of the demon.

"I know." She confirmed and the demon lunged at them.

Thera's body coiled; her knees, elbows, and ankles all bent as her eyes narrowed in focus. Then she jumped to the side, her body moving almost as fast as the demon, but as she dodged she could feel the air as the demon whisked by her. It landed in a heap letting out a disgruntled cry as it got to its feet again. As the demon got ready to turn Thera had landed and was now springing back at it, her hair whipping at her face with the fierceness of her movements. Before the demon was even fully turned around she had a hold around its shoulders. She could faintly hear Dante's shoes scrape against the pavement as she began to squeeze, the gesture more like hugging an alabaster statue instead of a living thing.

In her distraction of trying to focus on focusing the demon recovered from its shock and gave a loud and high pitched cry that hurt her ears before it swung its arms out and sent her flying. She cried out in surprise before the demon punched the air out of her and she landed in a pile of trash. Dante called for her, panic clear in his voice. She coughed out the dust that had managed to get in her lungs before standing. Looking up she saw had no time to react as the demon was already in motion and on its way towards her. She could see Dante behind the demon running after it, trying to stop it, and the demon plowed into her, sending her back into the trash and her eyes widened as the pain in her right shoulder bloomed into a white hot agony. Her mouth opened in silent agony as the demon quickly regained itself going for her neck.

Then the demon was gone from her vision. Shock and alarm swept over her as her head flew to the side focusing on the scene in front of her. The snarling reached her ears before her eyes actually got to see what she had focused on. Dante, who had triggered, had pulled the demon from her and was now holding it down with his foot and ripping limbs from its body like he was a seven year old who had gotten a Barbie doll for Christmas by accident. Thera heard the possessive snarls emitting from Dante's triggered demon as she warily stood on both feet rubbing her throbbing shoulder while watching the whole bloody slaying. The demon was making the highest pitched sound she had ever heard; she nearly had to cover her ears and probably would have if not for her shoulder that was probably going to need tending to.

When Dante finally dropped the last body part on the ground he was drenched in blood, his scales were dripping with red and he was panting heavily from the exertion of tearing a nearly steel skinned demon to shreds. When he detriggered Thera saw the hatred in his eyes and also the protectiveness that he was only used to showing to Nero and Thera herself.

"Father." She called quietly still holding her shoulder. This seemed to break him from his stupor as he turned to her, relieved that she was still more or less alright. She walked over to him and he placed a hand on her head, leaving a red hand print. His eyes ghosted over her, settling on her shoulder and his eyes sparked with anger but he pushed the feeling down.

"How's your shoulder princess?" He asked and she shrugged but winced at the action.

"I think it's just out of place." She said and he nodded his fingers gently prodding her shoulder.

"Well at least you're still in one piece. Your dad would'a killed me if anything bad happened to you." He said and both froze. There was a bubbling sound and both turned and looked down to see the demon's corpse moving. "Don't these fucker's ever die!?" He yelled and Thera looked at him with wide eyes at his language.

"Father." She said in surprise as Dante rolled his eyes.

"I used to do it three times as much before you came along. Your dad didn't want you ending up like me or him." Dante said and Thera rolled her eyes back at him. Before she could give a retort back however the bubbling became louder and there developed a gurgling sound. "Why don't you finish Mr. ugly off before it decides to come back to life completely?" He asked and she nodded glaring at the demon.

"With pleasure." Thera said angrily as she dropped down by the demon and placed her hands in the bloody remains.

Slowly the pile of innards and bloody pieces of skin began to turn to dust under her finger tips, blowing away in the win the passed through the alley. As the demon turned to dust the gurgling gradually stopped, leaving the alley in utter silence and two bewildered half demons looking at each other. Dante sighed softly and jerked his head silently telling Thera to stand up.

"Father?" She questioned and Dante grinned at her.

"How does it feel, taking out your first demon?" He asked and Thera smiled warily.

"Actually it was a bit scary." She explained and Dante laughed making Thera jump. She had expected to at least earn a frown for her comment, not laughing. "What's so funny?" She asked with a bit of anger in her voice. Dante's laughter died down to chuckles as he put his hand on her head again and ruffled her hair.

"I'm glad. I'd be worried if it wasn't; we don't want you turning into Vergil now do we?" He asked and Thera turned her head to the side, never hearing of the Vergil person he talked about. Dante turned from the alley and began walking to the car, waving for her to follow over his shoulder. Once she had caught up Dante began to explain the history of himself and his twin brother. On the way home the car was filled with many different emotions; mostly consisting of nostalgia, happiness, and a bit of anger. Dante told her the story of his family; of his brother, mother and finally his father, the legendary Dark Knight Sparda. Thera seemed really interested in the stories that he told her. She processed all of the information and stored it away inside of her head, making sure that she wouldn't forget a bit of it.

After Dante had finished his story they drove in silence. Thera hummed to herself as she looked out the passenger side window, watching the sun set through the building windows. The sky had turned a lovely violet color and Thera smiled to herself, thinking of how they mirrored her own amethyst eyes. Silently she shifted in her seat sighing to herself as her thoughts drifted to more isolated parts of her mind. Recently she had been thinking about her mother; her parents had yet to tell her that she was dead and Thera knew she was. No one leaves on a trip for twelve years without seeing their child.


	15. Detective in Trainning

Chapter 15: Detective in Training

When Thera and Dante had arrived back at the pizza shop Nero was about ready to tear Dante's lovely silver covered head from his shoulders. Rage wasn't even the beginning of how angry he felt towards the older devil hunter. Thera's shoulder hadn't been fixed when she and Dante walked into the Pizza shop. Nero had been so relieved to see them at first. He took long steps from behind the counter and swooped down to meet Thera, who looked a bit uncomfortable. When Nero saw her clutching her shoulder gently, well he just...

"Dante…" Nero ground out; his hand clenching Bloody Rose so tight his hand should've hurt. Dante swallowed but didn't show that he was the least bit frightened by Nero's demeanor. He simply put his hands in his pocket and met his gaze head on.

"Yeah ki-?" He was cut off as a fist connected with his jaw, sending him flying out of the still opened door to the pizza shop. When Dante landed an imprint of Nero's fist was bright on his face. Dante sat up and rubbed his jaw, not looking at the group in the shop. He knew this would happen but he wasn't expecting what happened next.

"What kind of an idiot are you?!" Nero yelled and lifted his gun, aiming at Dante and pulling the trigger multiple times. All of the bullets hit Dante. One hit his shoulder, another hit his stomach, another hit him in the leg, and the last one his him in the forehead. When Dante fell over from all of the bullets Nero closed the door and holstered his gun. "Idiot…" Nero could only say before he glanced to Thera who was looking outside with worried eyes. When Nero faced her she turned and looked at him in disbelief. "He'll be fine. He can't die from just that." He said and bent down in front of her. Thera looked at him with, guilt built into her features.

"Sorry dad. I told him I wanted to go. I said not to tell you because I knew you'd say no." She looked down. "Don't blame it on him." She whimpered and her eyes filled with tears.

Her hand automatically came up to scrub the tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks. Nero's look of anger turned into sympathy as he collected her into his arms and ran his fingers through her hair. He looked up at Rose and saw that she was also looking out the window to see if Dante would get back up. Nero pulled back from Thera and looked at her wet face before Rose spoke.

"I realize that you want to teach him a lesson but shooting him isn't the best way." Roes spoke and Nero looked from her to Thera again. So he _had_ been a bit harsh.

"It's not that I didn't want you to go hunting Thera." He said and she looked up at him, her eyes filled with questions which Nero knew he would answer. "I just didn't want you going after that demon." He said sitting down in a chair and pulling her onto his lap. "That demon was almost too much for me to handle. I almost died you know." He said and she nodded. Rose and her father both looked at each other, sympathy set deep in their expressions.

"Father told me that you almost kicked the bucket." She said and Nero's eye twitched in irritation but he managed to keep his face calm and caring.

"Right. You know that your dad's a powerful demon hunter, so having you go after it when you're only just ready to hunt wasn't the best idea." He said and kissed her forehead. "I understand that you want to go hunting with us right now, but you have to wait until we get some easier jobs first." Nero spoke softly and the door opened. Dante walked into the pizza shop, rubbing his forehead and limping like he'd just been hit by a truck. He looked royally pissed.

"I realized I fucked up but why the hell did you have'ta shoot me?" Dante cursed and this time Thera punched him in one of his healing bullet wounds. Dante yelped, one of his hands immediately reaching for the offended wound. Nero smiled.

"Language." Thera said and the grownups, not including Dante, chuckled.

It was times like these that Thera loved. She liked to be able to show how mature she was for her age and being able to one up her father was always fun. Thera turned to her dad and grinned, putting her hands behind her back. A sharp knife-like pain shot down her arm and torso from the motion. She cringed and made a pained sound as she let her arms go limp before reaching up for her shoulder with her good arm. It still hadn't been fixed. Nero frowned and put his hand on her arm. She flinched but did not pull away, trusting her father completely. With his other hand he around her waist and looked her in the eye. He gaze was calm and comforting, wanting to make sure that she wasn't upset. Smiling then, Nero spoke.

"I'm not gonna lie, this is going to hurt." He said and before she had time to react he pulled her arm back into place. Blinded by pain for the third time that day Thera cried out, shoving her face into Nero's shirt and taking a fist full of his shirt sleeve; not letting go. Nero hugged her as soon as it was back in place, looking up at Rose and Jerry who gave her looks of sympathy. "It's alright. I'm all done." Nero said shushing her crying figure and looking over at Dante, who was kneeling down to pet their daughters head.

DantexNero

When the family of three got home the sun was already setting. Nero threw his bloodied clothing on the drier and shook his head at the broken washing machine. Looking around the kitchen, he took in the bloodied door and furniture thrown in all directions, shattered from the rogue demon. The demon had really messed the place up when he escaped.

"My desk!" Dante's voice came from the office. Nero turned away from the kitchen and went through the doors to the office.

Dante's desk had been broken into many pieces, the drawers smashed after they were torn from the desk itself. His papers and dirty magazines were thrown all over the office. His chair was torn to pieces, the legs broken off and the back shattered. The once heavy oak desk now lay in shambles around the equally trashed room. The drum set also lay in the corner of the room with the jute box lying on top of it, metal molded around metal. Most of the objects were now ruined and could not be used.

Nero sighed, vaguely inspecting the ruined office before slowly making his way to his mate, wrapping the older in a warm hug and rubbing his face into the back of Dante's shirt. Thera, who had been looking around the damaged room as well, picked up a picture frame. She brushed dry wall and bits of wood from the glass and peered into the loving eyes of Dante's mother. She looked over at Dante, who now had his arms securely around Nero's back, and made her way over to them, being careful that she didn't trip and break anything.

"Father." She called out to him as she walked up. Dante let go of Nero and Thera handed Dante the photo. Dante took the unharmed photo from her, inspecting the frame before putting his hand on her head. She smiled and he ruffled her hair making her giggle. "Hey, I just brushed my hair!" She said and playfully swatted at his hand. Dante pulled away and looked back at the mess. Another sigh escaped his lips before he rubbed his messy silver hair.

"I guess we should start cleaning." Dante muttered wiping his face with his hands. Nero clapped his back with his hand before walking back into the kitchen so he would throw away broken furniture.

Little by little the office became clean once again. Trash was thrown outside in bags and debris was tossed into trash cans. The washer was put by the trash bins when they were too large to fit and objects like the broken desk were thrown into the community trash with the broken drum set and jute box. Thera helped the two males by collecting the papers that were all over the floor, trying not to look at the magazines. She might have been eleven, but she already knew a lot about the intimacy of all things living that needed to reproduce. Of course that didn't mean she wanted to see it, especially when the magazines were her fathers. Once the office and kitchen were cleaned Dante inspected the things that were still usable and sighed. Only the couch, billiard table, T.V., drier, kitchen table, and a dining chair were left. The table that the T.V. had been sitting on had been broken when the demon had thrown a drawer from the desk into it. Luckily the T.V. was untouched.

By the time they were done cleaning the sun had completely set and the office was almost completely black. The lamp that was previously on his desk was also thrown away. Dante took one look around his office again and scratched the back of his head in irritation.

"I'm gonna have to redecorate again…" He mumbled sitting on the couch along with Nero and Thera. "If I have to rearrange things every time a demon attacks, then I might as well keep it empty." He ground out and Nero rolled his eyes, wrapping an arm around their daughter.

"Just redecorate. It's not like you paid for a lot of this stuff." Nero spoke while Thera leaned against him. Dante looked at him for a long minute before shrugging and standing from the couch. "You trash picked most of the stuff anyway right?" Nero asked Dante nodded, standing again.

"Except for the Drums and jute box, yeah." Dante made his way over to the kitchen where he pulled out a can of tomato juice from the fridge and opened it with a 'crack' before downing half of the can. Walking back out to the office, Dante saw Nero picking up Thera from the couch, her limp form calm and quiet. "She fell asleep?" Dante asked causing Nero to turn around to look at him. Nero nodded. "Well let's hope they didn't trash the second floor too. It's gonna be one helluva job to get this place back in order again if the upstairs is ruined too." Dante said walking up and past the two of them so he could sit down, propping his feet up on the television. Nero made a sound of agreement as he turned and made his way upstairs, making sure not to step on any loose floor boards on the way so he didn't wake Thera.

Dante sipped his drink as he waited, looking over at his pile of magazines, contemplating on picking one of the up, and then finding himself too lazy to get up and get one. By the time Nero came back downstairs Dante had finished his tomato juice and was not lounging on the couch, his long limbs outstretching the couch and causing his feet to hang off the end. Nero found him there; eyes closed and face vacant of any emotion. If it were anyone else Nero would have thought they were sleeping, but he knew better with Dante. He walked over to the other, sitting down beside him before lying down on top of the elder. Dante made a hum of appreciation, wrapping an arm around Nero in protection before craning his next down to breath in Nero's scent.

They laid there in silence, listening to each other's breath. Dante ran a hand through Nero's hair, calming him and soon Nero's breathing slowed, his head lying on Dante's chest to listen to his heartbeat. Dante allowed himself to sleep, exhaustion becoming too much as he slipped into the dream realm.

DantexNero

The following morning was rather quiet from the morning before. There was no pounding on the door to wake the child, no clomping of boots on the stairs, and no yelling or falling to wake the entire neighborhood. Although the new morning was not filled with these noises, the world was awakening and showing some of its own livelihood. Birds chirped at the morning sun happy to welcome a new day. A car moved down the street, the person inside likely going to the market for groceries for themselves or their family. Things seemed to be bright and calm as the sun rose on Capulet, not a demon to be seen wreaking havoc or running amok. Inside Devil May Cry a white haired male stirred, his body shifting as the sun hit his face through the pain glass windows. His eyes opened slowly; already aware of his surroundings and where he was. The serene blue that was the same shade as the morning sky focused under fluttering eye lids. He shifted again, aware of the warmth snuggling into his chest on top of him. Raising his arm, he gently placed a large hand on top of the ex-order member's silver head of hair and closed his eyes again. He let out a soft sigh and letting his mind again lull back into the sweet dreams he had been seeing during the night. Things seemed peaceful all around for the two of them; quiet, gentle, calm. It stayed like that for a while until the doors to his shop opened with a bang. The doors crashed against the walls making the entire foundation shudder under the abuse. Startled by the sudden noise, Nero shot up from his place on top of Dante, who had also sat up, and the pair of devil hunters' eyes focused on the one who dared to interrupt their sleep.

Lady stood in the door way, Kalina Ann strapped to her back as usual and her hands placed on her hips angrily. The two studied her as she stood there, eyes of brown and blue glaring back at them. This seemed to confuse the two hunters, unaware of why she seemed so angry on such a quiet morning. Dante, being the first to recover from the ordeal scowled at her lying back down on the torn couch while Nero got up from Dante, a blush creeping onto his face.

"Lady…" The younger of the two demon hunter's mumbled quietly, wanting only to go back to the state of soothing sleep he had once been under. Lady on the other hand had her own idea of how things were going to go that morning.

"Damn it Dante!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, likely waking the youngling above them. "You were supposed to pay me back yesterday and you didn't even bother coming home until after I left town!" She yelled furiously at Dante who hadn't even flinched at her onslaught. "When I say we have arranged payments for the jobs you do you need to pay them up front! Not in the next two days when you can spend it on new magazines or sex toys!" She nearly screamed, her hands clenching into fists and her face a nice cherry red. Dante got up from where he was lying, his body stiff from sleeping on the couch the night before and walked over to the pile of papers in the corner. He picked up a suit case sitting next to them; only a few of his magazines and paperwork had actually lived, walking back over to Lady, silent all the way. Once he placed the case in her gloved hands he lay back on the couch, closed his eyes, and folded his hands behind his head as if seeing the woman this angry was one of many things that occurred on usual mornings. Lady paused, trying to process what just happened. Once she had gotten her bearings she turned her head to the side, her eyes glancing around the room and taking in all of the missing furniture. "Did something happen while I was gone?" She finally asked. Nero felt anger rise slightly in his stomach; only just waking up enough to be anything but tired.

"What do you think Lady? We're just missing most of our furniture because we felt like redecorating everything with Patty's decorations." He said with mild irritation and sighed, shoving Dante's feet onto the floor so he could sit down. His mood for the morning; which would have been good if not great, was tinged with bitterness. Dante pouted but sat up, leaving more room for Nero to sit down. "A demon followed Dante home from his job, attacked me, nearly killed me, and trashed our office before they killed it. You missed pretty much everything." He said and rubbed the sleep from his face. Lady stood there, a bit angry at his tone of voice and the way he spoke to her before she swallowed, cleared her throat and let the suit case dangle at her side.

"Well I can see you two are in a wonderful mood." She finally said after a minute and looked at Dante. "Thanks for the money Dante, but what the hell are you going to do about your office?" Lady asked and Dante shrugged in response.

"We have nothing to do today. We don't go to the beach until Monday. It's only Saturday." He explained and Nero's face brightened before he stood up.

"We can redecorate while we wait for Trish to get back with the results on that funky necklace that I gave her." Nero explained and the two other adults looked at him in confusion. Clearly they hadn't known that Trish had visited Nero the previous day. Nero blushed and scratched the side of his nose. "Yesterday while I was in line to get a pass for Thera's graduation, some lady dropped a creepy looking necklace. It looked like it had blood in it." He explained leaning against the billiard table as Dante's eye brows rose in interest. "I was supposed to give it to her earlier but that demon that followed you home tried to rip my arm off. When my blood came into contact with the glass vial, the liquid inside started to glow purple. At least, that's what I think happened. I finally gave it to Trish when I called her after you left the Jerry's shop." He concluded and looked from Lady to Dante to inspect their reactions to his story. Dante seemed intrigued and Lady only looked confused. She shifted Kalina Ann on her shoulder and shrugged.

"I'll never understand how demon stuff works." She said after a while, pinching the bridge of her nose. Dante and Nero rolled their eyes before the younger of the two pushed away from the table and turned, making his way to the kitchen.

"I'll get breakfast going. You don't have to wake Thera up." He spoke once he had made it to the doorway of the kitchen, turning to look at Dante. "She deserves to sleep in since she had such a long day yesterday." He said and Dante only spread across the couch again, making sure to stretch before relaxing making it a point that he wouldn't be moving for a while. Nero shook his head and moved into the cooking area so that he could start with their meal, making sure to take out everything he needed before he began cooking.

Out in the office Lady walked around, taking in all of the things that were missing. Her eyes scanned the area, noting that parts of the bar in the corner under the stairs were also missing. She made her round slowly, making sure that she remembered everything that had been in the small area. Things had been knocked off of the walls, shattering on impact most likely and even some floor boards were missing. There was even a gaping hole in the wall of the office that she hadn't noticed. Turning back to Dante after she had finished inspecting she saw him in the same place he had been in twenty minutes before. Lady sighed and made her way back over to Dante.

"You realize the person you're renting this place from is going to kill you if you keep getting this place destroyed." She said and Dante opened an eye to look at her. His gaze was bored and a bit irritated but to most people that's how he looked.

"I thought I'd told you." He said and sat up when she gave him a confused look. He scratched his head and cracked his neck before answering. "I bought this place off of the owner because I was tired of him bitching. Now I only have to pay the bills straight to the mortgage company. It's less expensive." He explained and Lady nodded lightly before turning to face the middle of the office. Somehow, it seemed Dante had become slightly better with money when she wasn't looking.

"Hmm, well instead of going dumpster diving again, why don't you just go to the thrift store down on twenty fourth and see what you can find there?" Lady suggested, letting Dante weigh his options for a moment before he gave an indifferent shrug.

"Okay. Once the princess upstairs wakes up and we eat, we'll give it a shot." He said and lifted his hips off of the couch so he could retrieve his wallet from his back pocket before sitting back down again. He rifled through it, counting how much money he had saved up and rubbed his neck. "I've got enough for another desk and maybe a new chair." He put his wallet back before looking around at the office. "Damn. I wonder how much the kid's got…" He muttered to himself before standing and moving into the kitchen where Nero was standing in front of the stove, cooking bacon. "Hey kid." Dante called and Nero looked over briefly before back at the food.

"No Dante, you're not eating what I've already cooked." Dante chuckled.

"I'm not in here for food." Still, he snatched a piece of the bacon that was already cooked waiting to be eaten on the plate. Nero yelled in protest and slapped Dante's arm when it had disappeared in Dante's mouth. When the bacon stealing fiend swallowed the food in his mouth he licked his lips and walked to the other side of Nero. "How much money do you have on you? We're going shopping today." He said watching as Nero shrugged, flipping an egg on the stove that had a major dent in the front.

"Check my wallet. It's in my left back pocket." He said flipping over another egg. Dante smirked slipping his hand in Nero's pocket, fishing out the wallet but not before groping the younger. Nero stiffened, the spatula in his human hand nearly breaking in half before he turned on the other. "Damn it old man!" Nero yelled as wielded the spatula he was holding like he was going to hit Dante with it. Dante retreated to the office, leaving a fuming Nero behind so he wouldn't get injured.

Dante had only just opened Nero's wallet when he heard footsteps coming from the hall across from him. Normally this wouldn't bother him. Thera usually came downstairs in her bare feet during the weekends. This morning however, something was off. The rhythm of the steps was faster than usual, as if she were in a hurry. Of course they weren't heavy enough of quick enough for it to sound panicked, but none-the-less they were quicker. Thera padded down the stair in her pajamas, her shirt hanging off of one shoulder with some of her hair stuck inside the collar. Lady glanced over at her, seeing her hurrying towards the kitchen with her head down, ignoring everyone around her. The two grownups in the room looked at each other in confusion. Thera pushed the door of the kitchen open like it was the biggest threat she had ever faced and disappeared through the doorway. Dante and Lady stayed silent for a few moments, waiting to hear anything else but they didn't. Nero was silent as he cooked and there was no sign of the child's voice.

"Bad dream?" Lady asked and Dante shrugged.

"Maybe the bathroom upstairs was clogged. Nero said that the plumbing upstairs sucked." He said and walked over to the couch so he could sit down on it again.

Lady rested Kalina Ann on the wall next to the doors and hopped up on the billiard table. She crossed her legs and watched as Dante counted the money that had been in Nero's wallet, wondering how the ex-Order member managed to collect so much money so fast. Lady scoffed quietly then. Of course, he didn't demolish things while on the job like Dante did. Nero would rather lead the demon away so it wouldn't hurt anyone or anything before he killed it. That was how he worked. Dante on the other hand….

"He's got almost twenty grand in here." Dante said and shoved Nero's wad of money into his own wallet. Yes, Dante barged in guns blaring. Lady sighed as she watched Dante climb back to his feet, entering the kitchen again.

When Dante entered the kitchen he knew something was wrong. Thera was standing silently behind Nero; the young man having seemed not to notice, and continued to look at the ground as if she were waiting for him to turn around. Dante's demon stirred inside him; fidgeting nervously in turn making Dante a tad nervous himself. The nervousness quickly turned to caution as he stood, watching their daughter stand behind his lover like she would attack him at any moment. Her body was coiled like a spring waiting to release and her hands were holding onto the edge of her shirt so hard her knuckles were white. Dante was going to approach her when Nero suddenly turned around, nearly jumping when he saw their daughter standing so close.

"Thera!" He exclaimed putting his spatula down next to the stove, leaving the hash brown to cook. "You scared the crap out of me. What's wrong?" He asked placing a hand on her shoulder.

Even when his hand met her shoulder she did not move. Her body seemed to be frozen in time; as if someone had pressed the pause button. Her chest did not move with every breath she took, her body did not sway from standing in one stop, not even a twitch. The two parents grew worried as Dante came over, kneeling down beside her and reaching out for her.

Thera moved then, her head slowly rising to meet her father's gaze. Dante's blood turned cold at the sight he saw in front of him. Thera's eyes were red and puffy, her nose was sore and her lip was trembling. Dante tried not to frown at her when he saw her expression. So she had been trying not to cry.

'_So maybe it was a bad dream.' _Dante thought and somewhere in the back of his head a voice spoke _Not a dream, a memory. _Dante pet Thera's head, comforting the she devil with a gentle warm hand. Slowly Thera leaned towards him, hugging him around the neck and letting go of the tears that she had been trying to hold back. Dante handed back Nero's wallet, guiding the crying preteen towards the office and over to the couch. Thera cried into Dante's shirt, clenching onto it as if she feared he would disappear. He petted her head gently, trying to calm her tears. Nero sat down beside them, looking over at Lady who looked concerned and a bit uncomfortable to be there. Smiling he nodded his head towards the front door and she nodded back gratefully before making her leave. When Dante and Nero had finally gotten their daughter to calm down she sniffled and pulled away from Dante, wiping her eyes and looking down at the floor.

"What's wrong princess?" Dante questioned gently, taking her hand in his to comfort her. Thera looked over to Nero, her eyes scanning him carefully as she wiped her nose. "Thera?" Dante inquired and Thera shut her eyes.

"Dad," She said getting her attention. "I need to know…" She said bitterly her voice shaking. Nero nodded rubbing her shoulder in encouragement.

"You can talk to me, whatever it is." He said and she just heaved a giant sigh before looking him straight in the eye. Determined violet met concerned sea blue and Thera opened her mouth, her hand squeezing her father's in a death grip.

"What happened to my blood parents?"

A/N: Wow you guys. I feel like I'm losing plot to detail here, but fear not; there was a point to this chapter. I know there have been a lot of complaints about how Dante's office keeps changing style in each game. Well this is why I think it keeps changing. Freaking demons keep destroying the place. So yes, that is my answer. And Oh mai gee you guys. Thera finally wants to know what the hell happened to her real parents. This is the dreaded day for the two half demon devil hunters. Jeez even I'm dreading the moment. So many things have been promised in the last few chapters!

We have the beach coming up; demon's showing up, a mysterious woman with a vial of blood, and now Thera's parents. I make too many promises.

For those of you who have been reviewing, thanks. For those who have been reading, thanks. Haha, I'm not really that bad when it comes to people not reviewing, though I do like reviews.


	16. Answers

Chapter 16: Answers

Dante stiffened and Nero's eyes widened. The room fell deathly silent, only Thera's breathing could be heard. Dante's hold on Thera's hands tightened and Thera's eyes flickered over to him before focusing on her dad again. Dante had been told. He had been told all of the things that Nero knew and even some that Nero had yet to know. Throughout the whole time Thera had grown up the two parents had been dreading this day. Fearing what their daughter might do if they told her the truth.

Nero sat down next to the two already sitting on the couch slowly, sighing deeply and rubbing the back of his head. He had a troubled look on his face that told them he didn't know where to begin. Dante pet Thera's head gently, wishing her to keep her patience while Nero got his thoughts together. After a moment Nero looked at her, his eyes saying that this wasn't going to be a pleasant time for any of them.

"Dante," He spoke first. Dante looked at him, his hand on Thera's head never stopping. "Would you go turn the stove off for me? I need to talk to her alone for a little while." He said with a sympathetic look.

Dante frowned at him, unsure of what he would want to tell their daughter without him around but didn't argue. He stood, running his fingers one last time through Thera's hair before leaving the office to the kitchen. Nero looked at Thera as soon as he was gone, he took her hands in his and leaned forward to place a kiss on her forehead; so uncharacteristically that Thera herself blushed at his affection. He had only done that when she was younger.

"Thera, I want you to know that no matter when I tell you, no matter what your father says, we'll be here for you. Okay?" He asked and she nodded. He grinned and ruffled her hair making her swat his hand away. "Good." He said and scooted closer to her, wrapping an arm around her. "About your parents," He began as Dante walked back into the room, sitting next to them. "Because you're a half demon like me and the old man, one of your parents was human." He said gesturing to his right arm. She placed her hand on it, feeling the warm hum of energy it omitted. "Your mother was the human in the relationship, your father; the demon. Your mother was a very pretty woman just like you." He said causing her to blush. "The time that I met her was on rough terms. On my way home from a mission I found you lying in an alley in the rain. I was pretty pissed that someone had left you out there to die." He said frowning but his arm around her tightened. She seemed okay with the story so far but what he told her next was going to be painful. "When I picked you up I found your mother. She had been… attacked by demons." Nero felt Thera stiffen beside him and he pulled her closer, continuing. "Even for a demon they probably wouldn't have lived with the wounds she had…" He ground out between his teeth remembering the pain that she was in. "Despite that she still wanted to see you. She wanted to make sure you were alright." Thera's shoulders began to quiver and shudder. "She was a nice woman. She could see that I was trust worthy… She only had enough time left to tell me your name and when your birthday was… before she passed away. …In the end I took you back here." He squeezed their daughter to him trying to calm her tears, hugging her close so she was close to his heart. He could feel a lump in his throat but he swallowed it, refusing to cry so he could be strong for her. "I wanted to take you to your father." Nero continued painfully, looking over to Dante who had put his hand on Nero's. Nero turned his hand over and clasped it with Dante's for comfort. "Your mother had told me that he had been killed as well when you were born but I still wanted to look into it. We couldn't figure out who your father was until your powers had developed. By the time we found out you were the Grim Reapers daughter and looked into it… Dante…" Nero said calmly but couldn't go on. He held their crying daughter as he looked at Dante pleadingly to go on. Dante's face was set into a neutral look that could be taken as cold if you didn't know him, but now he looked upset.

"Your father's body had been found in the human world by the next town over and had buried him in the town graveyard." He said calmly trying to keep his voice as level and caring as possible. Thera's shoulders only shook worse, her whimpers turning into soft sobs. Dante had to shut his eyes to continue. "The demon that killed your parents hasn't been caught but we've been looking for them- I have." He said and Nero looked up at him in disbelief. He hadn't told anyone about it. Not even his lover had known. Dante clenched his teeth putting his hand on their daughters head and took a deep breath. "Your mother was buried in our town graveyard. We wanted to wait to tell you…" He trailed off finishing.

They sat there for a while then, Nero holding Thera close and Dante close to them petting their daughter's head. Thera's sobs filled the shop, he tears staining her dad's shirt. The two males felt sorry for her but knew that the situation was inevitable. All they could do was comfort her as she lay in their arms crying her eyes out. The pain hit both of them just as hard; knowing that they couldn't help her or tell her anything different.

Most kids would take things easier if they found out their parent dropped them on a door step, but to know that your parents were murdered in cold blood and taken from you… Thera's sobs settled down to small whimpers as she pulled back from her dad, wiping her face.

"Thank you… so much for telling me." She said smiling at them both before wiping her nose on her sleeve and frowning again. "I- I'm hungry…"She managed as she looked down at the floor. Dante laughed and ruffled her hair which made her pout. "H-hey! You know I don't like that. My hair's already knotted from waking up." She said standing and Dante grinned standing with her. She punched him in the arm but couldn't help but smile, hugging him tightly and rubbing her face into his shirt. "Thank you for everything." She said after a while. She pulled back, tears in her eyes but a smile on her face. "I know that I may have blood parents, but you guys are my real family." She said and Nero couldn't help but blush at the words. He scratched the side of his nose as Dante smiled and put his forehead to hers.

"What? No, cursing at us and running out of the house saying that we're the worst parents ever?" He said a smirk falling into place on his face while Thera grinned back at him.

"Oh I could do that too but I don't think I'd get food then." She said and both Dante and Nero broke out in a fit of laughter. Thera joined in moments later and they all shared a good laugh.

After breakfast the three half-demons piled into the car and headed to the thrift store down the street. On the way Thera quipped up from her place behind the two lovers about getting a cell phone.

"El's been hounding me to get one. I figured I could pay the bill with my own money I pull in from my jobs." She explained as she caught Nero's eyes in the rearview mirror.

"El has huh?" He asked smirking at the nickname. Dante shared a knowing look with him before he continued. "You're in middle school now…. What about you Dante?" He asked turning to Dante again as he turned a corner at a stop light. Dante shrugged.

"I've never needed one and Nero's old town was too much of a stiff a- didn't allow the people to have cell phones." He explained clearing his throat as the two devil hunter's in the car glared at him for his misuse of language. He looked out the window to avoid their gazes. "I say go for it." He said finally and Nero nodded. Thera looked at him expectantly.

"Alright. We'll stop at the phone store after we're done here." He said grinning and Thera bounced in her seat.

"Yes!" She cried out and her parents cringed at the high pitched noise in the small area. She grinned sheepishly and scratched her head. "Sorry." She said quietly while they pulled into thrift stores parking lot.

Thera practically ran into the store while her parents walked behind her, entering the store and watching as the child ran off into the child's part of the store. Nero could help but smile at her as she jumped on top of a bean bag with palm trees on it.

"We're going to the beach house on Friday." Dante said suddenly as he walked in front of Nero. Nero rolled his eyes and took long strides to catch up with him.

"I figured old man." He said using the older hunter's nickname. Dante smirked at him and threw his arm over his shoulder. Nero refused to let himself blush in a public place and tried to shrug his arm off. It didn't work.

"Come on _kid_." Dante said snickering as the younger's face light up like a Christmas tree. "We've got furniture to pick out." He said pulling him towards the back of the store where the office tables and chairs were. Dante pouted as they walked up, causing Nero to turn to him in question. "I've had that desk and chair since I opened shop. That damned demon didn't even give me money to pay for repairs." He grumbled and Nero rolled his eyes punching the older in the arm before continuing on their way.

"Get over it. It's only a desk and chair. You're lucky I'm still alive." He said mumbling the last part and glancing at the floor as he shoved his hands into his pocket. Dante noticed the strange tone in the other man's voice. He didn't quite know what was bothering the younger half devil but by the way he was walking it looked like Dante had unconsciously hurt the other. Shoving his own hands in his pockets he turned his head to watch where they were going.

"Kid, you know that I love you." He said calmly and watched from the corner of his eye as Nero's head jerked up. A darker blush rested on his face as he scratched the side of his nose to hide it. Dante smirked at his reaction and continued walking.

"Love you too old man." Nero muttered as they began to glance around the store. It took them quite a while before Nero finally spotted an old antique desk much like Dante's old one. "Old man." Nero called waving for him to come over. He didn't turn as he walked up to the desk.

The desk was a dark Mahogany almost ebony and had four drawers on each side with two above the place where the desk chair sat. The sides were covered in markings that Nero could briefly identify as ancient scripture and the top was clean of any markings. Nero ran his human hand over the top and Dante looked at it appreciatively. The price tag was hanging loosely from a string that protruded from one of the drawers. Nero picked it up, inspected it and looked at Dante expectantly.

"It's three hundred." Nero said and Dante cringed at the price but knew that it had to be some ungodly amount of money. The thing looked like an antique.

"Why not?" Dante said after a moment of contemplation. He looked around for the matching chair but found nothing, only smaller, less bulky chairs sat around it. Perhaps he could find another chair that matched the desk later on. Nero turned and waved down a worker there who had been happily walking by with some stuffed animals in her hands. When she saw Nero waving his hand she nodded to him and made her way over to the two devil hunters.

"How can I help you?" She said juggling the stuffed animals. Nero took a second to inspect each animal. She carried four of them; two were teddy bears, one was a lion and the last was a small panda with which had glasses on. Before Nero could ask for the panda Dante plucked it from her arms, looked at the price tag and grinned at the woman.

"We need to get someone to come pick this up." Dante said to the confused woman as he placed his hand on the desk. She nodded looking at the stuffed animal in Dante's hand before smiling.

"Would you like it delivered?" She asked cheerfully. They nodded and she hurried off with the price tag after putting a sold sticker on the wood.

The rest of the time Nero and Dante looked around they found various things to replace the broken items. The table that had been in the 'living' part of the office with the TV on top was replaced with an actual entertainment center. Granted, it was only a taller table with two Drawers but it was still better than the table. When they were finished shopping they had all of the furniture shipped to the office before making their way around the store to find their daughter.

"She's probably hanging out in the board game isle again." Nero said and Dante chuckled.

"She's been obsessed with them since you showed her the chess set we have at home." He said glancing at him with a cool expression. Nero looked back at him and smiled.

"Yeah. It was your brother's right? I know you two played chess together when you were little." He said and Dante turned his eyes forward with hum of agreement.

"S'one of the only things I have left from when we were little." Dante spoke in a solemn tone and Nero cocked his head to the side in wonder, his eyes wide with curiosity.

"You never told me…" Nero began looking back ahead of them. "How your mother died." He said slowly and Dante seemed to stiffen next to them.

"There's a reason for that…" Dante mumbled quietly. Nero waited patiently for him to respond, not wanting to push the older hunter. He spoke after a short time of thought. "I don't remember much about the night it happened." His voice grew soft and Nero could hear a hint of sadness in it that he had never heard before. "I was about six, maybe seven. Vergil and my mother were both killed… at least I thought he had been. Demon's attacked our house while my mother and brother were asleep. I had been up getting a drink at the time and the demon's attacked the second floor. When my mom came downstairs screaming I was so confused. All I remember is that she had hid me inside the air vent in our living room before disappearing again. I was so shocked by the screams I heard that night that by the time I moved to get out of the vent, more than half the house was burned down." Dante stopped speaking for a moment as they turned a corner. His voice was angrier than before as he continued. "They'd set the house on fire starting from the upstairs. I tripped over Vergil and my mother's body on the way out of the smoke." He finished and let out a sigh. "Well I can't do anything about it now." He said as Thera ran up to them. Nero gave him a sympathetic smile and Pat Thera on her head.

"Can we go now?" She asked and they both nodded. "Good! Hey, guess what?" She said and they both looked at her.

"What?" Nero asked and Thera grinned.

"I beat two boys at chess." She said walking ahead of them with a spring in her step.

'That must have been a great boost to her ego…' Nero thought as they made their way to the car. "Awesome." He said and got into the passenger side of the car. "Do you know what type of phone you want? We need to get the phone from Dante's phone company." Nero explained as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Father's provider is AT&T right?" Thera asked and Dante nodded. She smiled. "Okay. I know what kind I want." She said and shifted excitedly in her seat.

When they got to the store Thera jumped out of the car and closed the door behind her, her body nearly vibrating with excitement. Nero and Dante followed her as they entered the store, walking over to a man who greeted them with a smile. Dante would never get used to the endless smiles from salesman. It still ended up annoying the white haired man. Nero slipped his hand into Dante's, feeling the other's discomfort.

"Welcome to AT&T. Would you like to put your name on the waiting list before you take a look around?" He asked Nero. The salesman did not look at Dante the entire time, probably because Dante wore that somewhat cold and a bit annoyed face. Nero squeezed his hand before nodded.

"We're adding a phone to Dante Sparda's plan." He said as the man took down Dante's name. When he was finished he nodded and the three walked off to look at the phone.

Thera knew exactly where she was going, it seemed. She made a B-line for the shelf in the far back, looking at a camera phone on the display shelf. Picking it up she handed it to Dante who looked at the foreign object in wonder. He touched the screen with his thumb and shoved his other hand in his pocket before he started to check it out.

"The phone is called a Pantech Flex. It's the perfect starter smartphone for a kid's first phone." She said after a while. "The store is having a special right now. The phone is only nineteen ninety nine." She said pointing to the price. Nero looked up at the original price and his eyes widened in utter shock. She saw his look and grinned. "See. It's cheap." She said and Dante gave her the phone back.

"I don't see a problem with it. It's a nice phone. I'd never use it, but it's got a music player in it." He said and Thera nodded, her smile broadening. "Guess we wait until someone helps us." Dante said and Thera nodded before going to look at other phones.

Nero pulled Dante along by his hand, following their daughter around the store and making some comments. After a while someone came up while Nero was looking at a Samsung and Thera was spitting facts out about the phone like it was water. The salesman noticed this and smiled at her, clearly impressed by her knowledge.

"You sure do know quite a lot about our phone here." He said and the three turned to look at him. Thera smiled when she realized her words.

"I do." She said and turned to the phone. "The phone's here are easy to figure out. The configuration and make up of them is quite simple." She said and the salesman blinked in confusion before nodding.

"Well what phone would you like today?" He asked and she grinned. "The Pantech Flex." She said and trotted off towards the phone.

The adults followed her, the salesman looking at her with calculating eyes, as if he were trying to figure out if she were really an eleven year old girl. Dante glared at the back of his head while they walked across the room. So their daughter was smarter than your average middle schooler. That didn't mean that people had to treat her any different. Dante couldn't stand the way people gawked at her. Sure, Thera might not care anymore but if someone ended up hurting her because of it… Well they aren't going to get away without any injuries. They stopped in front on Thera who picked her hair up and wrapped it around and over her shoulder so it cascaded down the front of her tank top. She grinned. The man smiled back.

"Good choice, miss. The sale ends today actually." He said and wrote something down on his Watt pad. "Why don't you come over to the register so we can set you up with your father's plan?" He explained, not waiting for an answer before turning. "What color case would you like? The phone comes in gray but you can get a case in regular black or a white case with red studs." He said and Thera thought for a moment.

"Can I see the white and red case?" She asked as they came up to the counter.

DantexNero

Once Thera had her phone she took a piece of paper out of her pocket and grinned. They got into the car and Dante watched as she went to town tapping on the screen with her thumbs. The one agreement to her getting the phone was no texting. She had been a bit disappointed at not being able to text but said nothing against it, agreeing wholeheartedly. She didn't need to text anyway, only call her friends. On the way home she put her phone in her pocket and crumpled up the paper.

"I added all of my friend's numbers to the new phone." She chirped and the two men in the front of the car chuckled.

"So you already knew you'd be getting the phone before you asked us?" Nero asked looking back at Thera through the rearview mirror. Thera shook her head, laughing at him.

"No, I had the numbers on paper to call on the land line." She said and Nero nodded, turning his eyes back to the road. When they arrived to the office Trish was waiting in front of the double doors with a grim look on her face. An uncomfortable silence fell in the car as they got out, walking slowly over to Trish as she pushed herself from the doors.

"I didn't find anything wrong with the vial. It wasn't blood." She explained as the group entered the office. The nearly empty office would soon be filled with furniture as soon as it arrived. Nero looked at the blonde in disbelief.

"Seriously? But why did it turn purple? Didn't it react to my blood?" Nero asked and Dante placed a hand on the back of his neck, petting it comfortingly. Trish shook her head as she perched herself on the pool table.

"The reason it turned purple was because of the demon that attacked you. It reacted with the demon's aggression." She explained and Dante's hand froze midstroke.

"You mean it's like a sensor? Like telling you if an aggressive demon is near?" Dante asked and Trish nodded.

"That's exactly what it is." She said taking it out of her corset. "The woman probably got this from someone who works with demons or the black market." She said and Nero nodded slowly as Dante's hand went back to stroking his neck. They both sat down on the couch and watched as Thera sat down at her father's desk. Trish tossed the necklace at Dante who caught it with ease. "Whoever she was she's definitely connected with demons but I doubt she's harmful. Usually anyone who carries it is wary of any kind of aggression, meaning that they don't want to be bothered. I'd leave it alone for now. There's nothing we can do about it since you don't know who the woman was." She concluded and hopped off of the pool table. "Now I'm leaving before you can make me do hard labor when your furniture arrives." She said making her way for the door. Dante wrapped an arm around Nero's shoulder and nodded to Trish's retreating form.

"Thank for the help Trish. See ya later." He said and Nero leaned into his side. The door closed just as the truck with the new furniture arrived. Trish sped off on her bike when there was a knock on the door.

A/N: So this was the chapter where everyone gets the answers. Well, most of them. We still don't know who Adelais is or who that woman was, but we've answered a lot of other questions. I hope you liked this chapter. I've been having difficult times at home but we're getting through it day by day. Thanks for being so supportive and I'm sorry I didn't have it up when I said I would.

Go ahead and leave a comment below telling me how I did. Have a great day you guys!


	17. Sunshine and Salt Water

A/N: **Edit- Um, so yeah. I made a HUGE oopsie. This is a new chapter of the same chapter (Weird and confusing but yes) and if you don't want to read it again please just skip down to the scene with Vergil's name on the door. Thanks.**

Hey everyone! The newest chapter is up! This one is the beginning of their trip to the beach. I hope everyone likes this chapter because I put so much love in this I don't think I can stand it. Enjoy and don't forget to review!

Warning: Smut in this chapter. You have been warned.

Chapter 17: Sunshine and Salt Water

Thera watched as the top to the convertible slowly went down. The burst of air that hit her face was warm and refreshing. Closing her eyes, Thera breathed in deeply; the faint scent of iodine and salt filling her nose. Such an odd scent to smell when one thinks of the sea. Opening her eyes she looked to the front of the car with a satisfied and excited smile on her face. Her parents were talking about their latest job they had worked together and how the demons had been different from the usual scarecrows or Mortifinis they usually faced. She paid no mind to it as she looked out the window, inspecting the scenery around her, watching the grassy turf soon turn to sand. Vacation was going to be so much fun.

"Thera." Came a feminine voice next to her and she felt someone jab her in the side. The white haired girl in turn jumped in her seat and slapped the hand away as she turned towards the offending appendage. Her violet eyes settled on a giggling girl the same age with dark brown nearly black hair and olive colored skin.

"Don't do that Elle, you know I'm ticklish." She said pouting. Her friend's giggles died down and she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Sorry, sorry. I just couldn't help it." She said and Thera jabbed her in the side lightly with her elbow making Eleni laugh again. Both parents glanced back into the rearview mirror and shared a knowing look with each other before they continued their conversation.

Yeah, this vacation would be amazing.

DantexNero

Thera and Eleni ran off to their rooms while Dante and Nero cleared out the car and moved everything into the beach house. There wasn't much to speak of, just some coolers, food, drink, umbrellas, towels, and toiletries among the many different beach toys. Once everything was unpacked, Thera and Eleni came barreling down the stairs of the second floor where they nearly tripped over each other trying to get to the kitchen.

Dante let out a guttural laugh when Thera landed on her face before getting up to continue running like nothing happened. Nero chuckled at the way they acted and made his way to his and Dante's room. When he opened the door a waft of musk and water lily's filled his nose; that and the overlying presence of a demon. Though the territory hadn't been touched for years he could feel warmth wrap around his head that told him to be cautious and yet wanted him to be safe. The presence told him that another demon owned the area but was willing to protect anyone who it deemed safe. A hand on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts as he looks over and up at Dante who had also stepped into the room.

"My parent's room." Dante said shortly as he walked ahead of Nero and placed his bag on the floor carefully.

Nero could tell that the older demon hunter was also treading lightly by instinct. The younger made his was over to the bed and sat down on it, looking around the room. It seemed normal enough; mahogany furniture with a cream background. The sheets were cream as well making the room seem perfect for the beach. The far wall was also a large glass window with sliding doors out onto a large balcony. The balcony was covered with bamboo blinds that could be pulled back at will, giving them privacy if needed. Altogether it was a nice place. Somehow he could imagine Dante's parents buying this place together.

Nero lay back on the bed and stared up at the while ceiling. Already he was deeply relaxed and looking forward to the vacation ahead of them. Dante sat down next to him and bent back to lean over him; looking down at him with both arms braced over the other's head.

"I take it you like it?" Dante asked and Nero rolled his eyes.

"Idiot. If I didn't, I wouldn't have come." He countered sliding off the bed and out of the other's almost embrace. "I'm sure the girls are going to want to go swimming already. Let's get going before they leave us behind." He said and turned to exit the room. A hand grabbed the back of his coat and in a mass of flailing arms with a guffaw he was sent tumbling back onto the bed. His eyes clench shut tightly as he made impact and opened in shock as he felt Dante sit upon his hips. "Get off." Nero said with a flat look. Dante only rocked his hips on top of the other's making Nero's face light up as he bit back a groan. "Q-Quite it old man…" Nero stuttered as his blush deepened.

"I don't think I will. After all, Thera's almost a teenager. She can take care of herself." He said and bent down to nibble on Nero's earlobe. He continued to grin on the younger boy even when Nero pushed on his chest to get away. Reaching down Dante rubbed the other's hips. Nero growled warningly and Dante chuckled before sitting back, a playful smirk on his lips. "Fine, I'll tell them to go play on the beach for a while and I'll even lock the door." Dante said getting up and Nero followed suit quicker than Dante had. Nero rolled, pushing Dante onto his back and looked at him with a dark and alluring look.

"Don't you dare leave this room…" He spoke in a low voice and Dante couldn't help but shudder. A sudden knock came from the door and Nero looked up from Dante, still holding the older male down by the shoulders. Throwing a glare at Dante he focused on the door again, not moving from her place over the older hunter. "Yeah?" He called and the door opened to reveal two preteens in swim suits.

Eleni's was a cute one-piece suite colored baby blue with orange stars littering the entire piece of clothing. Thera's was a tankini with a tie-dyed pattern and they both wore white flip-flops. Dante looked up as best as he could from his position on the bed. Thera looked at the two of them before looking at the floor hurriedly and speaking quickly.

"Elle and I are going out to the beach. We'll be back before dinner. B-bye." She said and all but slammed the door shut. Blushing furiously she turned from the door and walked away as calmly as she could, leaving her parents to do as they pleased. How could they even think of doing that when Eleni was here?! They could have at least locked the door… or put something on the doorknob… Thera shook her head as she padded down the stairs and headed for the door. Eleni jogged to catch up with her and laced her arm with Thera's, who looked at her with an apologetic smile. "Sorry you had to see that." She said and Eleni grinned.

"It's not like I haven't seen it before." She said and Thera let out a light chuckle.

"That's right. Your parents are trying to have another kid right?" She asked and Eleni nodded. "Well good luck with having a little brother or sister. It's gonna suck." She said grinning and dodging Eleni's fist as she ran for the door.

When the two friends got down to the water front they looked at each other before bounding into the water, making sure that they were in at the same time. Both of them gasped, suddenly grabbing each other in a death grip and squealed.

"It's cold!" They both nearly shrieked and waited for their bodies to get used to the temperature. After a while they let go and looked around.

"This is my first time being to a beach." Thera said looking out at the vast ocean. Eleni nodded and Thera bent down to run her hands in the water, making a small disturbance in the water before it returned to normal. Suddenly her hands flew up out of the water and sprayed Eleni with cold, salty liquid. Eleni let out a squeal and fell back, falling into the water before Thera burst out laughing. "Elle, you should've… s-seen your face!" She laughed so hard she had to put her hands on her knees. Eleni stood back up, shivering from the temperature of the water before she glared at Thera.

"You'll pay for that…" She mumbled before launching herself at the white haired girl.

DantexNero  
>(Warning: Yaoi ahead. This will be up for only a month or so before I upload it to . Please be aware that the next part of this story will be extremely graphic.)<p>

Dante moaned as he was brutally thrust into. Nero drilled into him, his demonic stamina keeping up with Dante's heated pleas.

"Harder…!" Dante practically screamed as Nero clutched his hips tighter within his grasp, slamming as hard as was physically possible into the other male. The wet, slapping sound of their hips could be heard throughout the room as Nero's thick member pistoned in and out of Dante's tight channel. "Fuck! Kid…" Dante moaned causing Nero to groan in response. This has been one of the few times within months that the two had had enough alone time to do anything. Thera was obviously old enough to know what they were doing.

Yes, Thera was entering middle school now. A bright and occasionally demanding preteen who, more than likely, knew about sex and was even more aware of when they could have been doing. So because of this Dante and Nero let her go out wherever she wanted within reason. One time she had asked if she could go out to a friend's house where they were having a party and it was only when she got there did she realize that it was a pairing party, meaning that every guy had a girl that they could hang with for the night. Thera was not the least bit pleased by this and had went home early but the two men always made sure she knew where she was going and what was happening there before she left.

"Damn Dante, you're so fucking tight...!" He groaned as he leaned down to latch his teeth onto the back of his lover's neck. Dante in turn groaned at the feeling before his entire body convulsed and he let out a feral sound that barely sounded human. Nero's lips rose in a smirk as he pulled back from Dante's neck. "Did I hit it?" Nero teased as Dante moaned in ecstasy.

"Fuck yes. Do it- again…!" Dante demanded and Nero nearly grinned before he angled his thrusts to pound right into Dante's prostate. Dante let out a long, heated 'fuuuuuuck…' as Nero's thrusts became deeper and, if possible, stronger than before at the new position. "Shit-" A gasp and moan were released from Dante's throat. "Nero…" Dante moaned out panting heavily and barely able to make a sentence. "Need… you… to top… more ofte- Ah!" Dante broke off clenching the sheets when Nero's hand snuck around to the front of him to take the elder's erection in his hand and pump in rhythm of his thrusts.

Dante's hips bucked back against Nero's and he moaned wantonly; his face pressed into the sheets with his teeth clenched and lips pulled back so he could let out a string of erotic sounds. Nero's breath was turning shallow and his hip movements were losing the rhythm they had been keeping up with the entire time. Dante's noises were growing in volume and Nero vaguely noted that there was no way the people walking by couldn't hear him. Nero knew Dante was close and he couldn't hold back too much longer himself. Leaning down Nero licked Dante's ear slowly before leaning down to his neck and nibbling on the flesh there.

"Nero… I'm- I'm gonna-!" Dante didn't have time to finish as Nero bit down hard enough on his neck that blood flowed and the older hunter was releasing himself onto the previously clean sheets.

The way his muscles tightened around Nero's cock made the younger man above Dante let out a feral growl and bit down harder before he let himself fall into the pits of ecstasy. Blood flowed into Nero's mouth and he pulled away quickly, a small trickle of blood falling down his chin. They stayed like that for a while, panting and trying to catch their breath until Dante slowly started to fall down onto the bed. Nero pulled out of him, earning himself a shudder and groan from the other. Nero collapsed next to Dante and ran his fingers over the small wound he had made on Dante's shoulder. Dante shivered but didn't pull away, only pulling the other closer and shoving his face in Nero's hair. Nero couldn't help but chuckle at Dante's childish behavior before he closed his tired eyes, basking in the afterglow. Fingers ran through his hair and he pet the nape of Dante's neck. Sighing deeply, Nero snuggled closer to Dante and felt Dante pull the covers over the both of them.

"Nap time..." He heard Dante whisper and with a smile, Nero surrendered to that voice; slipping into a comfortable slumber inside safe arms.

DantexNero

When Thera and Eleni arrived home the sun was already setting. They bound into the house sandy and covered in water. Eleni's normally olive colored face was tinted pink from the sun and Thera's skin was a bright strawberry pink color. Cringing as she put down her bag, she gently ghosted a hand over her skin.

"Owwwww." She moaned in pain as her skin set aflame under her palm. Eleni gave her a worried look and Thera smiled back sympathetically. "Sorry. I know I should have put sunscreen on. Father warned me." She said and Eleni nodded curtly. Thera knew her friend worried about her, but the sunburn would go away soon, if not by the end of the week. Eleni looked like she wanted to say something but her comment was interrupted when a door upstairs opened and she hurriedly ran to her room.

"Are you guys back?" Dante's voice came from the second floor. Thera turned her eyes from one direction upstairs towards where she could hear her father's voice.

"Yeah!" She called back and made her way to her own room where she took a shower and put the anti-burn gel on her sunburn. "I only want to be in as much pain as I have to be until I heal…" She mumbled to herself as she put on a cotton T-shirt that was three sizes too big and shorts before leaving her room. Downstairs she was met with Eleni holding out a glass of orange juice for her. She took it greatfully. "Thanks Elle." She said and Eleni smiled back at her before taking a sip from her own cup.

"Hey you two," Nero's voice came from behind Thera and Eleni's eyes shifted to behind her. She turned, looking at her dad who had a towel draped around his shoulders and his hair was dripping from the shower he had probably just finished. "We're having a barbeque, make sure you don't fill up on junk food." He explained and when Thera turned fully to face him he had to look at her twice before he burst out laughing. "Get a little over done?" He managed to ask in between his giggles. Thera glared at him and would've thrown a punch but just moving her back and arms hurt like hell. When Nero noticed this he sobered up and looked at her, smiling before rubbing her head. "It'll heal soon, right?" He asked and she nodded begrudgingly.

"Yeah." She said shortly and Nero walked past her to over where the porch was to look for Dante who was bound to be making food by now. Thera shook her head at the two and put her empty glass down on the counter of the small kitchen. "I'm going to hang out in my room. Wanna come with?" She asked Eleni and the girl in turn nodded.

They both walked up the stairs and to the cream colored door that had the name Vergil carved into it in cursive letters. Eleni's eyes were drawn to it as Thera opened the door and entered the blue painted room. The furniture was pretty much the same except for the colors. Blue and a grey ash wood that made the room seem like the water itself. The windows were smaller however and the balcony was absent but the shape of the room was all the same. Eleni couldn't keep her eyes away from the door. The name seemed to be an attraction that she could not take her mind off of.

"What's wrong?" Thera's voice came from behind Eleni. The darker haired of the two turned to her friend and smiled albeit a little confused.

"Nothing. I just saw the carvings on the door. Well, did your father have a brother?" She asked. Thera looked back at the door and tipped her head to the side in thought before shrugging.  
>"Yeah... He hasn't told me much though. Neither of my parents has told me anything of my father's past other than his brother. I know that my dad had an old girlfriend before he and my father started dating and my father's brother was his twin. That's about it for right now though." She sat down on the blue sheets and motioned her friend over. "Dad told me that father had a pretty bad past… but he wouldn't tell me any of the details. I'm always afraid to ask." Thera said and Eleni nodded as she sat down, sliding one of her bra straps up onto her shoulder from where it had fallen onto her arm.<p>

"If they're twins, I wonder what he's like." Eleni thought and both nearly burst out laughing at a skinnier less muscled version of Dante with a short haircut. Thera lay back on the bed chuckling and looked up at the dark blue ceiling. "Probably completely different; right?" Eleni asked and Thera closed her eyes laughing a little harder and nodded.

"Eleni, you're fantastic." Thera said Eleni shifted on the bed, chuckling to herself. They were silent for a while and listened to the sizzling coming from the open window and the two men mumbling to each other down below. Nero yelled suddenly and Thera could tell that Dante had gotten punched because he was complaining less than a second later.

"Hey," Eleni suddenly said distracting Thera from her thoughts. "I've wanted to tell you this for a while…" She trailed off and Thera opened her eyes and sat up, looking at her friend. Eleni had her arms crossed around her legs that were pulled up to her chest and she was looking at the bed nervously.

"What's up?" Thera asked her heart beating a little harder. She leaned back on her arms and took deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart. She didn't know why it was beating this hard. It only happened when she could feel the adrenaline kicking in while fighting or sparring with her parents; so why now? Eleni was silent for a while, a blush slowly spreading across her face and down her neck. Thera could feel her own cheeks heating up, fighting with her own body to make it calm down. Her cheeks only flared even more and her heart felt about to beat from her chest. An uncomfortable silence settled between the two and Thera swallowed. "Elle?" She asked and Eleni's eyes flickered towards her.

"I…" Eleni muttered and Thera's whole body tensed in anticipation. "I've got a boyfriend now." She said hurriedly and squeezed her eyes shut, shoving her face in her knees. Thera froze; her breathing, heart beat and blinking all ceased as she processed the words. For some reason she had thought…

"Oh?" She finally managed to force out and Eleni, face brightened as she pulled it from her fetal position. She nodded her head in a jerking motion and Thera's chest tightened a bit. Had she wanted Eleni to confess to her? She didn't think that she had feelings for the dark haired girl… Thera sat up and looked at her friend, a smile on her face that seemed sour on the inside. "What's he like? Do we know him from school?" She asked and tried to breath. Eleni shook her head dropping her legs and grabbing her phone from her pocket. She flipped the top open and pressed a few buttons before handing over the phone. Thera's eyes widened at the picture.

"No. He's not from our school, but he's really sweet and he's cute too." Eleni said as she blushed and rubbed the back of her head. Thera clutched the phone in her hand so tight she almost broke it before she let go all together dropping it on the bed. Eleni looked at the phone and up at Thera with a shocked and confused look. "What?" She asked; hurt clear in her voice at her friend's actions. Thera's hands shook as she stared at the phone, unresponsive to her friend. "Thera…?" Eleni said and put her hand on her friends shoulder; more concerned now for her friend than what she had originally thought.

She shook her friend's shoulder some and even took the phone away, but nothing would work; Thera just stared down at the mattress with a shocked look, barely breathing. Eleni kneeled in front of Thera, shaking her shoulders harder until her head fell back and Thera let out a small whimper, tears falling from her eyes before she began sobbing.

"Thera?" Eleni whimpered as she looked at her sobbing friend. She looked over at her phone, picking it up and looking at the picture of the boy that was shown. Panicking and not knowing what to do, she started crying herself and with shaking hands she nearly threw herself out the window and looked down at the two men below.

"Help!" She yelled at the top of her lungs at the two men who, upon hearing the scream, flinched and looked up with startled eyes. "Help please!"

A/N: Yeah… I needed to go back and change a lot of things. Dante was very OOC and not because of the smut. :P I think that's the most IC thing that I didn't have to touch. I think the outcome was okay though. If you think they're still OOC let me know and I'll see what I can do. Sometimes just fixing comments can change the feeling of the scene. Also, before you guys go spouting off curses like a sailor, I know everyone was thinking this was going to be a carefree trip to the beach but nope! Haha. Sorry guys. Please look forward to the next chapter! PvP


	18. Vacation or Elimination?

A/N: So the last chapter was slightly hurried. I don't think it was and don't worry; the beach experience hasn't stopped here. Keep reading and review at the end of the chapter! I would like to give a shout out to the wonderful Kitsunie who brought to my attention that the last chapter was just one _entire _paragraph. I'm so sorry for that you guys. I fixed it so please review for it if you didn't because of that. I know I hate reading one giant paragraph. It's just annoying. So thanks again Kitsunie. I'm very greatful.

Chapter 18: Vacation? Or Elimination?

"Please!" Eleni screamed and sobbed, looking at the two from the second story. Dante and Nero watched the tears fall from the second floor before they took off inside; one looking feral, the other very concerned.

The two men rushed into the small room, Dante's eyes settling on Thera while Nero had to take a moment to take in the appearance of the room before he also looked towards the child lying on the bed. Eleni stood next to the bed, her face contorted in a frightened look as the body on the bed did nothing but shudder, quiver and cry silently with the face of a freshly made piece of paper. The raven haired girl had tear tracks down her face, but didn't seem to be crying anymore. Dante took four long, hastened strides before carefully sitting on the bed; Nero following his example by sitting down across from him. Eleni stood back, watching the scene in fear and shaking like a leaf. Dante reached for their daughter, brushing the hair from her face and pulling his hand back with a hiss.

"What happened?" Nero asked as he too felt her skin, pulling back when he felt the coolness of a supposedly brunt cheek. "Eleni." He said after a moment of silence. Eleni was shaking so badly she could barely speak. She just held out her phone and Dante took it from her as calmly as he could.

"I- I told her that I had a boyfriend… She wanted to see so- so I showed her the picture…" She broke down into sobs again, sinking to the floor. "She won't respond, please- please h-help her…" She said with her face in her hands. Dante looked at the picture before his brows pulled together in a grimace. His hand clenched the phone as his ice blue eyes scanned over the picture.

Staring back at him was a familiar set of gold eyes and black hair with a red tint. The smile on his face looked completely fake; contrasting drastically with the empty look in his eyes. Dante's first reaction was to throw the phone across the room and go hunt the boy down, but he took a deep breath and handed her back the phone. It took a moment and him poking her in the head with it for her to take it. Once the phone was taken he turned to Nero who had been collecting Thera into his arms and set a cold look to the poor thirty one year old.

"Adelais." Was all Dante said and Thera curled up into a ball on her dad's lap, making sure to hide her head in between their chests. Nero glared at the phone and Eleni looked up at the group on the bed before looking down at her phone in her hand.

"What…?" She asked and Dante turned to the girl and motioned for her to hold her thoughts for the time being.

"Nero, take her downstairs and give her something to help her sleep, I need to have a talk with Eleni." He said and Nero only nodded, picking their daughter up from the bed before he nearly leapt out the door and down the stairs. Dante turned to Eleni, holding his hand out for her so she could sit on the bed. "Now, tell me everything you know about the boy in that picture." He said with a rough edge to it.

Eleni explained everything. She explained how they had met at a Marilene5 concert and he had driven her home with some of his female friends that night because her only ride had left earlier that night. Dante had frowned at that. She told him how he gave her his number so they could talk, how they kept in touch often after that night. They often saw each other after school and during the weekends when he wasn't busy. He seemed normal enough to her; nothing out of the ordinary.

"He might look scary and kinda cold, but in real life he's kind and gentle." She told him. Dante looked skeptical about it as he browsed the pictures of him in her phone.

She continued to explain how they'd been together for a few months now and how he had always treated her right, never threatening her or even showing any negativity towards her. Dante had looked up at her to search her face, but saw nothing but desperate confusion and the need to understand the situation. Nero walked back upstairs around this point and said that Thera was asleep in their room before sitting down next to Dante, who handed the phone back to its owner. Thera looked at the phone like it was cursed and set it aside.

"So he'd never shown any hostility towards anyone? Not just you, but people on the street? Not even a threatening look?" Dante asked and Eleni shook her head.

"He's really down-to-earth. He's never even killed bugs." She said and pursed her lips in thought for a moment. "One time he did save me from a rabid dog though." She said after a moment and pulled up her pant leg where some skin was puckered and more pink than the rest of her skin. "It had come from nowhere and attacked me. He threw some rocks at it before climbing the tree to get away from it when it chased him. It took a while before he was able to get down. Other than that, I've never seen him get violent towards anything, let alone want to kill something." She finished and Dante thought for a while before sighing.

"Alright." He said finally. "We'll just leave it at that for a while. I don't wanna ruin our only vacation that we've been able to get." He said and stood. Eleni followed albeit slowly.

"What about Thera?" She asked as they began to exit the room, Nero following behind. "Will she be alright?" The olive skinned girl asked. Nero placed a hand on her back while he matched his pace with hers, standing by her side.

"We'll figure that out when it gets there." He said with a reassuring smile. "I'm sure she'll be fine though. She's gotten over it before." He said and faced forwards to continue down the stairs.

Meanwhile Dante was stuck in his own thoughts. Something didn't seem right to the silver haired man. Adelais was supposed to be a cold teen with emotional issues. Dante also thought the boy would be a demon, not a girlfriend type of human. He mentally sighed and rubbed his face while he tended to the hot dogs and steak on the grill that had become a tad overdone. He threw away the charred remains before his thoughts became too jumbled and confusing. He wanted to punch a wall, a demon, _something_ so he could clear his head. How could the boy who disappeared come back into their lives at such a horrible time? They were supposed to be on vacation, _away_ from all of the stress and demons. Dante almost growled as the words _son of the legendary dark knight, sparda_ flashed across his head. If this was all some devious plan to get to Dante, blood was going to run like a river. Before he could become even more pissed at anything else, Nero snatched the prongs from his hand and bumped him to the side with his hip.

"They're going to burn if you keep spacing out like that. We might have extra's but not for long if you keep wasting them." Nero spoke, officially breaking Dante from his thoughts, in turn making him incline his head and shove his hands in his pocket while he watched his lover cook.

"At least I'm thinking. You guys seem to think I don't do that enough…" He trailed off with a smirk as Nero rolled his eyes and focused them on the food again.

"Shut up old man." He said and in return received a kiss on the top of his head before Dante retreated into the house.

After dinner, Thera had woken up. She felt a little warn down, but nothing too serious. She had seemed confused when Eleni came up to her, asking if she was alright.

"Elle, Elle, please. I'm fine." She said laughing, while pushing her friend down in the couch next to her where they were currently at in the living room. "Are _you_ okay?" She asked and Eleni looked at her earnestly.

"I'm fine… Oh Thera, do you not remember what happened before you woke up?" She asked and Thera looked at her confused.

"Weren't we laughing about how father's twin probably looked nothing like him?" She asked and Eleni looked crestfallen before she turned away and muttered something Thera could only decipher as '_It's probably for the best…_' before the Greek girl stood and looked at her friend with a slightly sad smile.

"Why don't I get you some food, you must be starving." She said and Thera grinned.

"That's be great." She said leaning back in the couch. "I can't really move at the moment. My burns hurt too much." She said and Eleni nodded before retreating to the other room.

Eleni told the two parents of what had happened and though they did not seem to like the outcome, they both agreed that it was probably better for her not to remember until they could figure this out. The next few days at the beach house were odd for everyone. Thera couldn't figure out why everyone was so quiet and everyone else was almost awkward around her, afraid to say the wrong thing and have her remember everything from the incident on their arrival. Thera began to grow antsy, not knowing what to think of the situation. She couldn't tell if something had happened while she was asleep or if she was the problem. A week into the vacation and she couldn't take it anymore. She had tried to act normal, even getting burned worse because she spent took long out in the sun and the block wore off. Nothing seemed to make them talk about what happened. It scared her for a short while. Eventually she gave up, not wanting to ruin her whole vacation. She played Frisbee with everyone, having some visitors join in and learned how to surf from an older boy who had come from Hawaii in order to 'catch some intense waves' that the beach had to offer. Her parents weren't too happy to hear that she had spent the day with an older guy, but if the only other reaction she could get out of them was anger, then why not make them as angry as could be so she wouldn't be under their concerned glances day in and day out. The boy was there the next day, looking as tanned and happy as the day before when she had met him.

"Hey Thera." He called as she ran up. He was holding two boards, a dark green one with blue ribbon type markings running throughout the board and a girlier board with a shock blue back ground and two large hibiscus flowers down at the fins. Thera grinned from ear to ear.

"Hey yourself. How was your first day at this beach?" She asked as she walked up. He shrugged, his smile never leaving his face. "What kind of an answer is…" she trailed off while mirroring his movement. The boy shrugged again and laughed.

"I guess that's a, 'it was alright but I'd rather spend the entire day with you' shrug." He said and Thera felt her face heat up more-so than it already was. Her burned face tingled because of it. She looked away to the pink and blue board he was holding, trying to calm her pink face.

"Atoni?" She said his name making him look at her, the smile ever present. "Is that what I think it is?" She asked and he grinned broadly, his face looked almost painful to look at he was grinning so hard.

"Yup. This is yours." He said shoving the board her way. She caught it, looking at it with shocked eyes. "It's really my sister's, but she told me I could have it for the day since she's spending it with her fiancée at the inn we're staying at." He explained as she inspected the board. She looked at him with gleeful eyes that made a little color fill his cheeks.

"This is amazing!" She cried and dug her board into the sand before throwing her arms around him, her pony tail swaying behind her. He let out a surprised yelp and managed to catch her without falling. "Now I can ride waves with you!" She said pulling away and looking at him happily. He smiled and turned to the water.

"The surf is really going off its face today. I caught a few waves earlier." He said and she looked over at the sea, noticing that there were a lot of clean waves that they could ride. Atoni had taught her some surfing terms yesterday and 'going off its face' was one of them. It meant that the surf was really good and today's surfing lessons would be clean without a lot of wipe outs.

"Wanna get started?" Thera asked and Atoni nodded, bumping shoulders with her as they walked up to the surf and prepared to get into the water.

After hours of surfing and making sure to reapply plenty of sunblock, she bummed out on the sand, laughing as Atoni looked over at her with a surprised look. She rolled over in the sand before sitting up, trying to brush off the sand that clung to her skin and not really caring that her hair was sticking to her back. He looked at her even more surprised when she got up and stretched.

"Your burns are gone." He said suddenly and she looked up at him in surprise before down at her arms. It was true. The red marks on her arms were completely gone, even when she had been outside all day long. Looking at him she smiled, hoping that she wouldn't freak him out.

"Must've been from all of the sun block." She said and Atoni looked at her warily, his mouth opening to say something back when a sudden cry of her name broke both away from each other. It was Eleni. She was running over, grinning from ear to ear.

"Thera! Come on back and see what your father picked up!" She exclaimed and Thera gaped. Hadn't they all been distant from her for the past two weeks? Why was Eleni suddenly all friendly with her again? Thera looked from Atoni to Eleni before she smiled apologetically to the boy.

"If you want you can come meet my family. I'm sure they'd love to meet you." She said and Atoni only picked up his board and gestured with his head to lead the way.

When the three arrived at the beach house Atoni could only gape. Thera giggled at his side as they made their way into the sitting room, placing their boards against the wall by the front door. Dante and Nero were both sitting on the couch, a large box sitting in front of them. Thera stared curiously at the box before looking at both of her parents, who were looking at Atoni like he was the plague. Thera swallowed nervously, wanting to step forward to introduce him, but falling a step behind Atoni as he hastened his steps. Thera watched as Atoni held out his hand to Dante, who looked at him with his usual carefree and lazy gaze. Somehow, while she was out, things had returned to normal. Now the silver haired girl was _really_ confused. Dante took the boys hand.

"You must be Dante," Atoni said and Dante's smirk told the surfer he was right. "It's great to put a name to a face. Thera won't shut up about you guys." He said with a light chuckle. Dante let go of his hand and Atoni turned to Nero, holding out the same hand. "I've been teaching your daughter how to surf over the past few days. I can say that she's a fast learner. One helluva swimmer too." He said grinning. Nero took his hand and gave it a short shake before dropping his hand. Dante reclined in his place on the couch and propped up his feet.

"I thought it wouldn't be long until she brought home a guy. At least you're not puny." He spoke and Thera cleared her throat, a blush on her pale skin.

"There's nothing between us father, quit seeing too much into things." She spoke and Atoni put a hand on his chest where his heart was.

"Ow, what a blow to my ego." He said in a fake hurt tone, making Dante and Nero laugh. Thera smiled at the three, the blush still present but not as bad as before.

"Sorry Atoni, but I only met you a few days ago." She said scratching the side of her nose, a habit she had likely picked up from her dad. Atoni waved her off with a shift of his feet and grin.

"It's fine. I'm sure we'll get to see each other after today." He said with a wink and Thera socked him in the arm, making sure not to hurt him. He laughed and rubbed his arm. "After he had calmed down Thera flopped down between her parents and peered at the box.

"What's in it?" She said and suddenly heard shuffling coming from the box. It made her jump. The two men sitting next to her and even Atoni laughed as Thera jumped back fromm the box and tried to mold to the cloth cushions. Dante motioned with his head for her to open it, the ever present smirk never leaving his face. Thera saw a spark of mischief in his eyes that she didn't like. "It's not gonna attack me is it?" She said and Nero rolled his eyes from behind her.

"Just open it. It's not gonna bite, now at least." He said and Thera turned to him with an incredulous look. "Thera." He said and she could only look back at the box. Something inside was moving and as far as she could tell, her ears were sensitive enough, the thing inside was sniffing around. Sniffing?

She reached for the box, opening it and peering inside to find a puppy shuffling around inside, and its eyes weren't open yet! Thera's eyes widened in wonder and she reached in to pick the small fur ball up. The fur had not yet grown enough to tell the breed, but Thera could tell that it would likely be a white and cream colored dog. The size of the paws showed that it would be a large dog as well.

"You guys didn't _buy_ me a dog… did you?" She asked and Dante let out a guttural laugh.

"Hell no. You'd be completely spoiled I we bought one for you. We happened to find the box on our way to the store for a propane tank." He explained and slid a piece of paper over to her. The writing on the front said 'if it's still alive, go ahead and take it' which made Thera glare at the paper and hold the puppy closer. She glanced up at Atoni and Eleni to see the two cooing over the dog.

'_This vacation just got ten times better.'_ Thera thought as she pet the dog's head and held it out for the other's to look at.

A/N: So this was the next chapter. Yes, there's an extra page. Yes it's a treat. No I'm being serious. The next chapter is the conclusion of our vacation ends you guys! :D Be happy! There's plot development in the next chapter! …Well, there was in this chapter too. I _never _write a pointless chapter. Keep that in mind people. **_I NEVER WRITE A POINTLESS CHAPTER. _**And with that I'm outta here. I've got other stories to post and things to update.


	19. Last Vacation

A/N: I know you guys must have enjoyed the vacation as much as the characters. I've been busy with school. I actually haven't touched this story since the day I started school. When I say I started school, I actually mean college. My classes have been very tedious. I'm typing this chapter outside at the moment and it's freezing. My fingers feel like icicles. I started the new quarter on the first, and I'm sorry that I didn't get it done by then. Well, read on and I hope you all like this chapter.

Chapter 19: Last Vacation

Thera sat on her bed, mulling over what had happened these past few weeks. Atoni had been keeping a watchful eye on her and Eleni had been making sure she kept the puppy alive. The white ball of fur was currently lying on her bed, nuzzling the fluffy sheets into a formidable sleeping arrangement. Eleni was sitting across from Thera, watching as she strung shells onto a string and tied them off one by one and she tied off the last one of her own. Things had settled down after the incident with Adelais' photo. She still couldn't remember anything from that moment. Thera knew how to surf, though she wasn't very good, and Eleni now had honey colored skin. Her tan was very becoming of her originally olive colored tone.

The puppy whimpered and Thera glanced over to see it suckling on the blanket. This had been one of the things Eleni had told her that signaled the puppy needed to be fed. Gently she put down the shells and got off the bed, moving over to the dresser and pulling out the necessary materials for feeding the puppy.

"Have you thought of a name yet?" Eleni asked as she put her own finished necklace down. Thera shook her head while mixing the puppy formula together in the bottle.

"No... I never thought naming a dog would be so difficult." She explained and turned from the dresser. Entering the bathroom connected to Vergil's bedroom she came out with a mug of hot water and placed the bottle in it before waiting. Walking over to the bed she reached down and took the puppy into her arms, loving the feel of the silky soft fur. "I want to name him something that he'll like, something that would fit his personality..." She explained in a soft voice while her fingers gently massaged the puppies head. It whined and she smiled, sitting back down on the bed and laying it down in the warm sun. It was a pleasant day outside and the sun was just warm enough for the little puppy.

Thera made her way over to the mug again after a few minutes, testing the formula before she crawled onto the bed to feed the puppy. She picked up the puppy and stroked its back with her thumb as she got the puppy to take the nipple into its mouth. It suckled at it; its ears moving back and forth to show that it was indeed drinking. Thera pet its head gently and massaged its stomach as she looked out the window. Atoni was supposed to come over that afternoon to help with the cook out they were having. Thera watched the waves crash down on one another as she let out a long, soft sigh.

"Today is the last day of vacation." She muttered as her eyes scanned the white sand. Eleni turned her eyes from the puppy to the window, also looking at the wonderful history. She nodded.

"Yeah. We'll be starting school in another month." She said and rung her hands together. "Middle school." Eleni nearly whispered and Thera swallowed. When the puppy was done feeding, Thera set the bottle to the side and continued to stroke its head.

"Do you wanna go school shopping with me?" Thera asked as she turned from the window to look at her friend. Eleni's grin was enormous as she nodded. Thera returned the gesture and stood from the bed. At that moment, Dante opened the door to her room and all but threw himself inside, closing the door behind him and panting against it. Something then slammed against the door, followed by angry yelling. Thera looked at her father with a dead pan expression, cradling the puppy in her arms as she approached him. "What'd you do to dad this time?" Thera accused as Dante held the door shut.

"I can break down the fucking door Dante, get out here!" Nero yelled from the other side. Thera looked at her father expectantly as Dante looked back at her with a smirk.

"Not much, just ruffled his feathers a little." He said and Thera's shoulders slumped as she turned away from him. She handed Eleni the puppy before turning back and putting her hands on her hips.

"Move." Was all she said and Dante pouted.

"That's no way to talk to your papa." He whined and Thera landed a well aimed kick to the side of his head. Dante let out a grunt as he was sent onto the floor before the door flew opened and hit the wall with a bang. A red faced Nero flew into the room. When he saw Dante on the floor holding his head he turned to Thera who was shaking out her foot. He was about to ask what happened when Thera interrupted him.

"Your head is _hard_." She complained and Nero couldn't help the snort that left his throat. Eleni was nearly doubled over with laughter while trying to hold the puppy. Dante sat up and rubbed his pounding head.

"Yeah, well so is your foot." He said and proceeded to stand. He stopped for a moment before groaning when he realized Nero was in the room. Nero already had a hold on his collar before he could think of running.

"I don't think so." Nero said angrily as Dante tried to pull away. Thera watched and followed Nero who had begun to drag her father out of the room and outside. Eleni followed in her path. "You're not getting away with just a kick in the head." Nero ground out as they made their way outside. When the front door opened he threw the older male out onto the sandy ground, making sure he would land on his face. Dante skid a few feet before stopping, his head buried under the sand. "Get up old man, I'm kicking your ass." He all but yelled, not bothering to correct his foul language. Dante stood from the ground while spitting out sand and wiping his eyes before he turned around, ready for whatever punishment he would receive.

DantexNero

That night they began the long ride home. Thera said goodbye to Atoni making sure to give him a nice hug and give him her number. She said they would keep in touch. If they wouldn't be seeing each other in the future they at least had a way of talking. He had grinned at that and saluted before jogging off back to his hotel. Thera rolled his eyes at his gesture and when she turned to return to her family, she saw Nero also rolling his eyes. She had smiled a bit at that. Dante had that look of I-want-to-kill-him-in-his-sleep while turning his attention to Thera. She frowned back, their stares boring into each other. Nero had ended up having to pull Dante away from her by the arm while Eleni dragged Thera along by the hand. Dante still had a bad feeling about that boy but he didn't know what. When he shared his thoughts with Nero the younger had told him that it was simply him overreacting to her finally having someone that she liked. Dante still kept his eyes on the boy the entire vacation.

Dante had to admit to a few things about the blonde boy. He was very laid back and knew how to do things in style without being a total ass. He supposed that Atoni was a younger version of himself without the bad attitude Dante had at that age. There was also the matter of how old the kid was. Even though he was only a year older than Thera he carried himself well. He didn't make stupid teenager mistakes like falling face first into the snow when women walked by, which Dante still did, and only made comments when need be. He didn't hog a conversation and say 'Haha, YOLO SWAG.' like a lot of the other kids did in Thera's school. That was a giant plus.

Then there was the fact that the kid didn't dress like a douche bag. Dante never thought he'd ever hates kids as much as when they walked around with their pants half way off. How the hell did they even walk in the first place? They need their legs to walk, not waddle down the street. Dante figured they didn't understood how much of an idiot they seemed. Either way Atoni's casual clothes consisted of loose T-shirts and slim jeans like Nero wore. Sometimes he would switch it up and wear a button up plaid shirt with rolled up sleeves, but it was usually always the same. No pants that had the waist fastened at his balls.

In Dante's opinion he was a good guy with morals and maybe it was just his nerves getting to him because hell this was Thera, his daughter, who was interested in a guy for her first time. Dante didn't think he'd be the one of the two who'd go ape shit over something like this. He thought that Nero would be the one. Then again Nero had Kyrie who he looked after when they were small... Dante didn't really have anyone... Except Patty, but he didn't think that she was much of a daughter. She was more like a giant nuisance.

Eleni was now situated next to Thera, her head on the white haired female's shoulder while Thera looked out the window. The puppy sat on her lap, snuggled into her hands and sleeping peacefully. Dante had some smooth jazz playing from a CD that he had bought and Nero was cleaning his blue rose as Dante drove. Yawning once, Thera laid her head against the window and closed her eyes. The vacation had really wiped her out. Despite this she was very content with how it had turned out. She enjoyed how much time she spent with everyone and now that she had met Atoni she thought that she could look forward to growing up a lot more. She would definitely grow up fast so that she could meet with him on her own. She smiled as her eyes stayed closed. Atoni.

That boy was a character. She found herself thinking about him often and even wanting to see him again even though it hadn't been that long since they saw each other. Her heart sped up when she thought about him and she couldn't help but smile when she remembered his face. She had never felt this way with anyone but Eleni... and even now Thera's feelings towards Eleni had changed drastically since she met Atoni. Thera's sudden thoughts had her blushing in embarrassment.

'Maybe this is love?'

"Thera." Dante spoke quietly from his place in the driver's seat. Thera's eyes opened and she peered at the back of Dante's head. With a tired mumble of 'yeah' signaling she had his attention Dante spoke. "We need to talk when we get home. Make sure you take Eleni upstairs first." He said and Nero looked up from his gun with a sad look. Thera, in her tired confusion, mistook that as a rejection to Atoni. Closing her eyes, she felt an ache in her chest that spread throughout her body and she tried to sleep. Maybe things would make more sense after she got some sleep.

DantexNero

It was nearly daybreak when they got home. Thera and Eleni had gotten a full nights sleep on the way back from the beach and Nero had taken a three hour nap for the night. Dante, in all his hard headed glory, had chose to drive the entire way back to Devil May Cry. Nero had offered more than a few times, but Dante needed something to distract him.

As Dante shut the car door to his convertible Thera and Eleni both jumped up, startled by the sound. When everyone was in the car Eleni was taken upstairs in order to sleep off the ride and Thera went back downstairs to speak to her parents. Nero was sitting on Dante's desk when she came down while Dante was just coming out of the kitchen with a beer in hand.

"Father it's nearly morning." Thera scolded and Dante simply cracked the can open and took a sip as she dumped himself in his chair. Nero was looking at the two while waiting for someone to say something. Things were quiet for a while as Dante sipped away on his beer. Thera couldn't take it anymore. Her nerves were on edge and she felt like she was about to get scolded. She couldn't understand if her father was angry at her or not and neither could she understand why her dad wasn't saying anything at all. So finally, without thinking about what she was about to say, she opened her mouth and blurted the first thing that came to mind. "Atoni and I aren't going to date father." Which caused Dante to choke on his beer and Nero to lose his balance on the end of the desk and stumble. Seeing their reactions and Dante trying to expell the alcohol from his lungs she realized that this conversation that they wanted to have with her wasn't about that. Dante finally took a breath without coughing and looked at her incredulously. She looked at him nervously. "Th-that's what this is about right? You don't approve of me giving him my number, right?" She asked and Dante wiped his face before walking over to kneel next to his daughter.

"That's not what I'm worried about Thera." He said and Nero crossed his arms.

"Your father wouldn't be downing a beer this early in the morning just because you have a crush on Atoni." He said and Thera blushed in embarressment. She should have known better. Then her blush disappeared into a paled face and she looked at her dad.

"Then what is this about? Was it something else I did?" She asked and Dante sighed before standing up. He pulled her out of the chair for a moment so he could sit down before he pulled her into his lap. She sat sideways in order to look at both of her parents and listened intently to what they had to say.

"Before I say anything..." Dante said looking at Nero briefly before turning back to Thera. "Don't worry too much about this alright? Don't flip out and jesus don't curl into a ball and start screaming. That's the last thing we need." Dante explained and Thera began to grow worried. Why was he warning her about all this? Was it that troublesome that she needed to stay this openminded? Before she could ask what it was Dante picked up his beer again and took a sip. "I'm not sure you'll remember him but I'll ask anyway." Thera's ears perked up at this. "Do you remember anywhere in your memory of a boy that used to bully you?" Dante said as his brows furrowed briefly when he said 'bully'. Thera would have found his reaction comical had she not been trying to remember. She vaguely remembered a boy with brown hair and a stoic face.

Then it hit her. The extreme fear from during vacation that she had experience came back and she looked at her father with wide eyes as she covered her mouth to try and not scream. She let out a small whimper and bent over, tears filling her eyes. Dante rubbed her back comfortingly as she tried not to sob out loud. He shushed her as she tried to get her running memories back in order.

So Eleni was dating Adelais... But didn't Eleni say that he was different? She had said that he was sweet to her. She covered her head and shook it. Of course he was Adelais. That expression would always be in his eyes. She would never forget it. But then why? Why would Eleni date a guy that hurt Thera so much? She couldn't understand. Fear built inside her to the point where she had to cling to Dante's leather coat in hopes that would help tune it down. It didn't. Dante shushed her and rubbed her back some more and she tried to speak but nothing came out but whimpers.

"Old man, maybe we should just leave it..." Nero began but one look from Dante had him huffing and looking away with his arms still crossed.

At his comment Thera tried to calm herself down. She didn't want her parents to be concerned for her. She wanted them to not have to worry about anything... but she couldn't calm her breathing and couldn't get her eyes to focus on anything. All she saw was those golden glowing eyes that bore into her soul when she glanced at him. Dante held onto her, making sure that she wouldn't fall off of his lap or try and run away.

It was then that the doors creaked open and a soft knock came from behind those very doors. Dante was startled when Thera suddenly sat up with the jerk of her head and looked towards the door. Both of the parents looked at the creaking door and watches a small form in a black hoodie and grey skinnies walk through the door.

"We're closed." Dante said and looked back at Thera who was now focued soully on the form in front of her.

The figure closed the door before pulling the hood off and revealing a head of deep brown hair with redish auburn streaks. The two part devil's eyes widened as the figure lifted its head to show masculane features and glowing golden eyes. Before anyone could even breathe Nero had his gun out and pointed towards the boy in front of him.

"Whoa!" The boy cried as he raised his hands and back up against the door. "Jesus christ man!" He yelled and Nero only glared at him. Dante held Thera closer to him. The boy looked honestly surprised. His face drained of color and Nero could see the faint shaking in his knees. Either he was one hell of an actor or this boy was different than in the picture.

"Why are you here?" Nero asked with a voice that chilled the air in the room around them. The boy leaned back more on the door and put his hands in front of him while opening and closing his mouth as if he was trying to chew something that wasn't there. Only the foot steps of someone fumbling around upstairs turned Nero's attention from the boy to the loft. Eleni came bounding around the corner, her foot steps heavy on the wood as she came to a halt at the top of the stairs.

"Zane!" Eleni nearly screamed as she saw Nero holding him at gunpoint. She raced down the stairs and Thera jerked in Dante's arms in a means to get to her friend as Eleni ran over to the mysterious boy.

"Eleni no!" Thera yelled and Nero raced ahead to catch Eleni before she could get to him. With an arm wrapped around Eleni's waist Nero kept his gun pointed on the boy. Thera continued to struggle in Dante's arms while the boy looked like he was about to faint.

"I asked you a question." Nero grated and cocked his gun. The boy, who Eleni called Zane, scrambled back again and finally managed to get some words out.

"I'm just here to pick Eleni up to take her back to her house." He said with a slight accent that Nero couldn't put his finger on. Looking down at Eleni he slowly backed up and pushed Eleni down on the couch. He motioned Zane over to the middle of the room where he stood, Nero's gun still trained on him. "What's up with this man? I don't understand why you're treating me like I'm-" Zane couldn't finish his sentence as Dante cleared his throat and stood with his daughter still in his arms. Thera had her eyes focused on the brunette in the middle of the room and would not look away.

"Stay there like a good boy. We promise we won't hurt you..." Dante trailed off and that little glint in his eye made Zane's legs shake more. The poor boy looked as if he could barely stand up, but he nodded and watched as Dante sat Thera next to her friend who immediately clung to her like she was her only life support before walking up to him. Eleni just held her friend and watched silently, not liking where this was going.

"Seriously what's going on? I don't understand." Zane asked. Nero houlstered his gun and propped himself up on Dante's desk where he could watch Dante examine the boy from afar.

Dante took his time looking the boy over and making sure that everything was seen. _That's odd_, he thought, _I don't sense that feeling coming from him like I did back then. Did he learn to control it?_ With his thoughts just about summed up he sat back on the balls of his feet from the crouch he was in and stood up.

"Nero," At Dante's call Nero perked up and looked at Dante. "Do you smell it?" He asked and after a moment of Nero sniffing the air, the younger hunter shook his head. "Exactly." He said and walked back to his desk. Zane visibly calmed down and his shoulders slumped as he gave a silent sigh. "He's not the same person." Dante explained and Eleni stood from the couch, bringing Thera with her.

"I told you they're not the same person." Eleni said with a pout as while walking over to Zane. They embraced, rocking back and forth on each leg before letting go. "Sorry about all this. Normally they don't go trigger happy like that." She explained and Dante muttered something that sounded like 'more like most of the time.' to which Nero punched him in the ribs. Dante gave a cough and clutched his side with a feigned hurt look. Nero just rolled his eyes. Eleni smiled back at them. "Their Thera's parents, remember I told you about her?" She explained and Zane nodded in understanding as his eyes traveled over to the white haired female still standing by the couch. She looked spooked but not as terrified as before.

"You're Thera?" He asked and though Thera flinched at his words, she still nodded. "Finally putting a face to a name. She talks about you all the time. Never shuts up actually." He said with a grin when Eleni protested loudly while slapping him in the arm.

"It's not all the time!" She complained as Zane looked at Thera's parents with the goofy grin still on his face.

"You've got some pretty bad ass parents." He said and Eleni slaped him again, this time scolding him for his language. He looked down at her, she was a few inches shorter than him, and apologiezed with a smile and shoving his hands in his hoodie pockets. "Seriously though, what is it you guys do? You Special Opps or somethin'?" He asked and Nero scoffed.

"You could say that. We don't really work for the law though." Nero said and it was Dante's turn to send a comical smile across the room.

"Oh yeah, we're far from the law." He said and Zane gave them a confused look. "We fight the big bad monsters in your closet." He explained and Nero swatted him on the back of the head. "Ow, what the hell?" He asked and recieved another smack to the head for his language. This shut him up and had him prop his legs up and cross his legs in his way of sulking. Thera took that oportunity to walk up to Zane and slowly and carefully inspect him like Dante had, only, more like a cat inspecting a dark hole in fear of something jumping out at any moment. Zane looked at her curiously and before he could move and make Thera jump out of her skin Eleni sent him a warning look.

"You look like him..." Thera said in wonder but stepped back and even though her stare was still suspicious, she did nothing but turn to Eleni and sigh. "But Zane's not Adelais." She concluded and her face became more understanding. "I'm sorry for freaking out on you like that..." She said and Eleni hugged her.

"It's fine. I don't blame you." She soothed her snow haired friend with a hand rubbing on her back. Zane seemed very confused and turned to look at the two parents in the room who only turned their attention to the two hugging girls. Eleni let go and gave Zane an expression that told him she'd explain everything when they got home and he only nodded. "Are we allowed to stay for a while. I'm sure Zane'd like to get to know a little about Thera." She said then blushed while ringing her hands. "I do talk about you a little more than I should." She said and cleared her throat before looking at the two grown half devils in the room. "So is it alright?" She asked and Dante shrugged.

"Stay as long as you like." Dante said and got up from his chair to head for the stairs. "I'm gonna catch some Z's. Driving was hell." He complained and Nero punched him in the back for his language before following right behind. Thera shook her head with a chuckle. Her father probably would never have the right mouth.

Later that day Zane was playing on Nero's Xbox and the two prepubescent women were watching and cheering him had cooled down between Thera and Zane. They were getting along fairly well for the rocky start and her parents threatening the poor boy. Eleni's smile couldn't have gotten any larger. If it did then they would have a serious problem. Lips to stitch and such.

"Go! Jump over that rock! Oh god run, run, run!" Thera yelled with Eleni and miscelaneous other things while Zane ran from a zombie-type-alien-thing. There was a loud yell from the screen before it went red and Thera and Eelni jumped up in disbelief. "You were totally through that door!" Thera yelled.

"Yeah, zombie's aren't supposed to be able to open doors." Eleni complained and Zane laughed at them. There was foot steps from above but none of them seemed to notice until footsteps on the stares and a loud yawn resonated around the office.

Dante clambered down the stairs, making sure to scratch and itch that had been bothering him for a while. When he got to the bottom Thera stood from her place on the couch and went into the kitchen to gether more snacks for the trio. Her father followed close behind.

She hummed to herself as she got some chips out of the cabinet. After pouring some into a bag she made sure that she sealed the bag with a chip clip before putting the bag back and grabbing three more bottles of water from the fridge. Dante watched her in mild amusement as she walked around the kitchen humming to herself. He hadn't seen her this happy since him and Nero gave her that puppy. Speaking of puppy...

"Hey princess?" He called as she opened the door to the kitchen. She turned to look at him in question. "Where's that white ball of lint?" He asked and Thera rolled her eyes at him.

"The puppy is sitting on the couch in a shoe box so he won't fall off." She explained walking off with the western half doors swinging closed behind her.

Dante chuckled and turned to the coffee pot where he began to make a pot of coffee. Nero came down minutes after the pot was done brewing and arrived in the kitchen with a mug of coffee in his face. Smiling he took the cup and walked over to Dante's desk where he leaned against it while Dante took his place behind it with his feet propped up. They watched the kids play another round of Nero's newest game he had gotten some knock off of a game he had gotten special in Fortuna a while back. For a knock off it sure was a helluva lot better. Nero sipped his coffee as Zane blew one of the zombie's heads right off its shoulders. He was surprised by the taste and looked over at Dante who was holding out his hand for the mug along with his own. Must have switched the cups by accident. So they switched them went back to watching the kids.

"Nero." Dante's voice called quietly so it didn't attract the group in front of the T.V. Nero turned from looking at the kids to train his eyes on Dante who let his feet down quietly from his table while looking at the younger with his usual smirk.

"I put sugar in both." He said smoothly to which Nero frowned, turning to him and poured the coffee onto Dante's, luckily, clear desk.

**A/N: **I'm sorry this was so late. I really did try to get it in within a reasonable time. College is pretty stressful and I haven't had very good health. Despite all my road blocks I have gotten this done! I hope you all will review. I know some of you are mad that I haven't updated in a while, but forgiveness is the best TLC I can get. So thank you all so much for sticking through this bought of writer's block and I'll see you either in the reviews or in the next chapter!

Pure~*

Quote: "With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts." - Eleanor Roosevelt


	20. Destruction

A/N: The twentieth chapter came out a lot faster than the nineteenth. I'm still sorry about that. The contents of this chapter will be something you'll either love to death or hate with a burning passion. When I say this I don't mean the actual way I wrote it. I mean the content. So Have a great time reading and I hope you'll love it.

Chapter 20: Destruction

That evening Zane left with Eleni in order to take the girl home. Of course he got his father to drive them home; however, they still made it home safely all the same. Thera called her that afternoon in order to make sure she got home alright. Throughout the week of their remaining vacation they spent much time together in the Devil May Cry office. Thera went shopping with Eleni a few days before school started and Zane joined them in order to organize their books.

"Which school do you go to again?" Thera asked Zane that afternoon while she was putting some papers in a binder. Zane flipped a folder shut and opened a black sharpie to write the class title and teacher's name on the front.

"My mom's forcing me to attend a religious school because my grades have been dropping. It's an all guys school too." Zane said as he seemed to pout. Eleni rolled her eyes and nudged him in the side.

"She doesn't care about religion Zane. Her entire family doesn't have a religion." She explained and he let out a sound of understanding.

"That's why your parent's aren't all stuck up about me coming over." He said and Thera laughed.

"Yeah. Father said at one point that 'him and religion don't mix.' which is true. He honestly ignores it. You should see him when people from churches come by." She said and Zane's eyes widened as he looked at the front door.

"You'd think they'd steer clear. I mean the sign says 'Devil May Cry' after all." He said and Thera gave her papers a slight sour look.

"Yeah, well people don't come around often, but when they do it's all, 'let me save your souls' or 'I can exorcize the demon from you if you believe in god.' when it does happen." She was silent for a while before snapping the binder prongs shut with a clang and shut the binder softly. "Sometimes I really hate religion." She muttered. Eleni was silent and Zane was looking around the room nervously. "It wouldn't bother me so much and I know the things they say shouldn't get to me... but saying they want to exorcize the demon inside me?" Thera asked to no one in particular.

This was one thing she couldn't get over. Religious people telling her that they can expel the demon inside her was something she didn't take lightly. Neither did Dante when he kicked the man in the stomach and shut the door on him. Thera couldn't understand how people could come to her door and spout these things like they owned the world. Pushing your ideals in peoples face was one Ideal way to make people hate you. Now that didn't mean Thera hated humans. Sure they got on her nerves, but she loved them like she did with her parents. She grew up with them. It's only natural to hate some of the things that you grew up with. Or at least be mildly angry with them.

The demon 'inside' her wasn't another being, it was apart of her. She was born with it. Saying that there was her and another person or 'thing' inside her was something she would never be willing to say. She was the demon. She was her own beast. Sure every now and again she would find herself thinking things that she normally wouldn't, but it's not like things got out of hand! She didn't hear other voices, didn't have someone convincing her to do things she normally wouldn't, and she sure as hell didn't have internal fights like her parents. Her dad had told her that at some point in her life he would hit her 'second puberty' like he and her father had. When she had asked him about when it would start he merely shrugged his shoulders. Obviously he wasn't the well versed one in the devil department. So she had ended up talking to her father and he told her everything. The only thing she _could _look expect was the pain. She wasn't looking forward to it in the least.

"Did your father get more ice cream from that cafe you guys like?" Eleni suddenly asked and Thera perked up at the mention of food.

"He did!" She squealed getting to her feet and running into the kitchen. "I almost forgot!" She said while pulling three ice creams from the freezer in glass cups. She grabbed the extra long handled spoons from the drawer and scuttled back out to the office. "Thanks for reminding me. Normally he eats them before I even know they're there." She said while grinning. The group of three seemed much more at ease when the food was brought out. "Are you guys ready for school tomorrow?" She asked. Eleni glanced at Zane before they both grinned.

"Of course!" They chorused and Thera handed them each some ice cream.

The years went by fairly quick for the family of three.

Atoni came by often enough and Eleni and Zane stayed together. The days that Atoni would visit were Thera's favourite days. She loved to spend time with the blonde and even though Atoni didn't yet realize that she was a demon she didn't mind keeping things from him. Atoni was observant but he never asked any questions; something that Thera always liked that about the caramel colored boy. She liked the way he never pried or made her uncomfortable. Dante, eventually, warmed up to the boy and the two teens began a steady relationship. They depended on each other like a normal couple. They went on dates like a normal teen couple. Dante would drive them places and Nero would pick them up. Eventually Thera got a phone call that made her the happiest girl in the world.

_"You're moving out here?" Thera jumped up and down holding the phone to her ear and Dante chuckled from his seat at his desk. "That's fantastic!"_

Nero and Dante were their usual ass-kicking selves and Thera slowly learned more about demons and the devil culture. Dante taught both Nero and Thera about the ways of demons. The things that they learned varied from the demons hunting habits to different types of calls they made. Dante didn't really think it was that important to learn but it was always good to know in case you needed it. The different things they learned came from experience and even when Nero made Dante crack out the many books he kept stashed in his basement the older man just glanced at them every now and again. What's the point of reading from a book if he already knew it all? Repeating himself wasn't going to teach them anything except that his memory wasn't as bad as Nero thought it was.

The puppy that they had saved grew up big and strong. It followed Thera wherever she went around the small building and only left the house in order to go to the bathroom. Dante had wanted to train it to be an attack dog, but the rest of the family knew how that would go, so the idea was shot down before it could develop any more.

The dog grew up to be a giant majestic breed. It's fur stayed fur white no matter how much it rolled around the dusty floors of the office and Thera found out that it had light amber eyes when the puppy had finally opened them. With the years that passed the puppy grew, but the young puppy-like face didn't change at all. The fur thinned and it lost it's fluffy coat as it aged. At one point Thera took it to the vet to get it a check up. They had asked her if she wanted to do a test to see what the breed was since she didn't know. After the tests were done the vet said that her dog was a Saarloos Wolfhound which was a foreign breed and not normally found in Capulet. The white pelt on the beast was unknown for the breed but they couldn't find any abnormalities in the test. Their only conclusion that they could come to was an abnormal gene.

Four years after their visit to the beach and Thera woke up one morning to the most shocking thing in her life.

"How am I gonna tell them?" She asked herself as she sat on her bed looking down at the mattress. The new tie die sheets she had gotten or her bed were now muddled with a red tint. She quickly raised herself from her bed, ran into her bathroom after grabbing some clothes and her cell, and immediately stripped from her dirty nightgown. She threw it into the dirty clothes basket in the corner of her bathroom and tried desperately to calm her heart as she took a shower. "I can't believe this is happening." She muttered and rubbed her face as water fell onto her back. 'The health teacher at school _did_ give us this talk.' She thought numbly as she wiped down her body. Who would she tell? She obviously needed something to make sure that blood didn't get everywhere, but where the heck was she going to get it from? Blushing deeply at her own timidness she stopped the water and opened the shower door before looking at her phone. "I could always call Lady..." The thought was idiot all on it's own. Lady barely kept in touch with the trio now that her debt was paid off. With interest, she might add. Even though the two lived with each other temporarily the female huntress still barely talked to them, but Trish was out of town and she couldn't get a hold of her even if she wanted to. There was no other choice. She didn't want to bother Eleni with this when Eleni hadn't even started hers yet. "Lady it is..." She muttered as she slipped a towel around her frame and reached for her phone.

She dialed the number slowly, making sure she gathered enough courage. The phone rang a few times as she sat down on her toilet and rubbed her stomach that had suddenly started hurting. It seemed like forever for the phone to finish a single ring. The tone seemed to stretch out for centuries as if she were listening to a low whistle from a train that wouldn't stop. After the third ring she took her hand away from her ear and just as she was about the press the end button there was a click and Lady's tired voice came in from the other end.

_"Hello...?"_ Thera had never wanted to hide in a hole more than now. Taking a deep breath she sighed before speaking.

"L-lady?" She spoke, her voice shaky. Lady yawned from the other end and there was a sound of something rustling before she responded.

"Thera?" Her voice still sounded tired and now very confused. "Why are you calling me at three in the morning?" Okay and maybe a little irritated. Thera swallowed again and tried not to sound as freaked out as she felt. She tries to keep herself calm.

"W-well," So much for that idea. "I kinda have a problem..." She said and Lady paused for a moment, not even breathing.

"What's wrong Thera?" Her voice sounded very serious and no longer tired or angry. Thera shifted on the toilet seat and felt a rush before she squeaked and clenched her legs shut. "Thera?" The volume of her voice grew and she seemed a bit more worried.

"Um, actually... I started my period..." She said and blushed from head to toe. Lady was silent for a while before more rustling was heard and Thera shifted uncomfortably.

"Get dressed and use some toilet paper to stop the flow for now. I'll pick you up in a little bit." There was another pause. "You didn't tell either of the two idiots did you?" She asked warily and shook her head even though she knew Lady couldn't see.

"No. I haven't. It just started..." She said and she heard a sigh on the other end of the phone.

"Alright. I'll be there in a few." She said and Thera hurriedly opened her mouth before Lady could hang up.

"Uh- wait, Lady?" She called and Lady gave a grunt in reply. "Thank you." Was all she said and Lady chuckled from the other side before hanging up. Thera sighed before putting the phone down and standing up. "Time to get ready..." She muttered before she turned to the toilet.

DantexNero

"Thank you again for doing this Lady." Thera said in the car on the way back to the office from the drug store. Lady nodded with a smile.

"No problem honey. I don't want you to have to deal with the awkwardness of those two idiots at home. They don't know how to deal with this type of stuff." She explained and Thera nodded, knowing how everything went when she asked if her and Dante could go shopping for bras. Needless to say that experience was dreadful and had to be experienced three times. Each time she needed a new cup size. Now she was a D and she hoped that she wouldn't need any new ones for a while.

They arrived at the office around five O'clock and made sure to enter quietly. The door swung to the side silently with only a whisper against the wooden floor. As she stepped in she could hear the dog snoring on the couch and the leaky faucet in the kitchen, but nothing else. When Thera stood in the center of the room she could tell that the two devil hunters were still fast asleep. Those two really needed to be more aware of things. If that entrance didn't wake them up then it made her wonder how they were still alive.

Sighing she turned to the couch, went over and pet the dogs head, watching as he lifted his head and sniffed her hand in an affectionate way. Lady walked through the door moments later and promptly slammed the door shut. With a huff and a drop of her hand, Thera turned to Lady with a nervous look.

"I need to go take the sheets off my bed..." She said with a light blush covering her cheeks.

"I'll wait down here. Might as well grab a beer from the fridge. Those two started buying them again right?" She asked and Thera nodded. Lady let out a little chuckle that sounded a little evil to Thera, but she paid no mind as she climbed the stairs to go to her room. Her door was still open from when she left the house earlier that morning and she closed it behind her as she entered. Silently she peeled the sheets from her bed and looked at the stained mattress. Sighing at the soiled bed, she turned and threw the mattress into the laundry bin. Glancing over at her dresser where her other sheets were kept her eyes were dragged up to the headphones that Atoni had gotten her for her sixteenth birthday along with the newest MP3. The headphones were a mixture of orange, yellow, blue and red. She really loved the boy. Shaking her head she turned back to face the bed and cracked her neck carefully.

"Looks like I'm going to need a new bed." She muttered to herself as she walked out of the bathroom and to her drawer in order to get out some new sheets. "Should I even put sheets on this? Does it need to dry first?" She asked as she looked at the bed. She sighed again and put the change of sheets on top of her dresser. "This stinks." She said as she flipped off her slip-ons and put them next to her other collection of clothing.

"Actually I think it smells quite wonderful." A smooth and light voice came from behind her. Immediately her body froze in place and she stopped breathing. "The smell of a fresh virgin who's become ripe." The voice continued and Thera felt the hands of the owner of that voice trail up her arm. She opened her mouth to call out, to scream to anyone, to tell them that Adelais was here! He was in her room! As she went to make a noise the only thing that came out was a small croaking sound. "I wouldn't try to speak right now my dear, that wouldn't be very wise." He spoke in that soft, smooth, yet bone chilling voice. Thera trembled under his fingers. She couldn't even blink let alone speak. Adelais stepped to her side and Thera forced herself to stay facing forward. Just as the boy reached out foot steps came padding down the hallway, something tapping on the floor to make a clicking noise that coincided with the foot steps and they skid to a halt inside her room. Thera knew what the thing was when she heard a loud growl and barking. It was her dog.

A loud snarl was heard then as Adelais was tackled to the ground by something large and white. Thera was shocked into moving as she backed up from her dresser and towards the bathroom door. Turning with a flurry of her hair, she looked to see her white Saarloos Wolfhound on top of the boy and struggling to get a bite to his face.

"Zeff!" Thera screeched and fell over as she tripped on some of her shoes. Immediately she scrambled to her feet, cursing herself for actually tripping before she made her way to the door in a flounder of limbs and hair. She was breathing quickly, her heart pounding in her chest as she reached out in front of her.

"Thera!" Dante's voice came from down the hall as the door to the couple's room slammed open. Thera's wide eyes quickly looked at the door she was running for as she let out a quiet sob.

"Father!" Thera yelled to him. She made it to the door and was about to exit her room after throwing it open when a gust of wind blew through and nearly knocked her off of her feet. She covered her face with her arms and let out a scream in surprise. Fear coursed through her again in a strong wave and she felt her head reel. This couldn't be happening. After all the years of being rid of this hell everything collapsed on her all at once. Looking up when died down Thera came face to face with a woman.

Her eyes were a shocking gold color and her hair the same as Adelais'. Thera's eyes widened as the woman lifted her arm in a flash and caught the teens arm. Thera glared at the woman as her own arm flashed out, looking to suck the life from the woman in front of her. Before her hand could make contact with the woman's chest, she was wrenched to the side and thrown into the wall. All that her lung power left her after the impact was a small choking noise. She faintly heard the sound of a yelp and a yowl before a louder crash was heard and her head grew dizzy. Blindly she scrambled to get into contact with whatever she could while her senses were confused. Panic rose in her chest no matter how much she forced it down. It was over flowing.

"Let go of her!" She could hear a female voice yell and there was a cry before another thump. The impact from the wall had Thera's mind growing numb. Her head fell forward and she crumbled, hanging limply from the woman's hand.

"The woman was unexpected." Thera faintly heard as she was dropped onto the floor. She assumed it was the woman who had knocked her against the wall.

"It has been taken care of." The smooth voice said. It paused before continuing. "Make sure she's actually unconscious. I don't want her killing you if you pick her up." And that's when a kick was sent to Thera's stomach. She let out a strangled cry as she tumbled across the floor, her ribs cracking as they made contact with the corner of her desk at the other side of the room.

She curled into a ball and tried not to let the tears fall. Her vision was almost gone now, but she needed to stay awake. She couldn't let them take her. She couldn't let them win.

Another kick was sent to her spine and blinding pain exploded behind her eyes. She let out a shriek of pain as kicks were repeatedly sent to her sides and back. She was being forced into the corner of the desk over and over again and her ribs were rubbing back and forth at the breaks. Searing pain ran through her like acid through her system. She couldn't take the pain. Even though she couldn't stand it her body refused to give out on her and let her sleep. She stayed conscious no matter how hard or intensely she was kicked.

After a while the woman stopped kicking her and huffed in irritation. Thera was still conscious. Her thoughts were in over drive. Why was this happening? Why was Adelais here? What happened to her parents? Lady? Thera knew Dante couldn't be killed. She knew it took a lot to put Nero down and although Lady was human, she wasn't weak. So what happened to them? Why couldn't she hear their cries?

"Why don't I just break her arms? If she can't touch me she can't kill me right?" The woman asked and Adelais let out a small sigh of irritation. "What? Don't tell me it was a stupid question. I mean she obviously isn't going to pass out any time soon." She explained and there was some rustling, foot steps, and thuds as someone stumbled. Then Thera felt herself being picked up by the hair.

She let out a cry as she was lifted while her ribs were stressing against each other and pushed out from the inside as if they wanted to pierce her skin. That's when everything went numb. She was thrown. Her body flew with great speed into the wall at the opposite side of the room and crashed through it like it was merely water that she was diving in to. The world turned on its side once again and she landed on her parents bed which crumbled underneath the impact. All her senses were leaving her now and the only thing she could hear was a gurgling noise. With what strength she had left she let her head fall to the side and she forced her eyes to focus on where the noise was coming from. Her eyes widened before her hearing and vision failed her and the last thing she saw was her dad, lying on the floor looking at her with an outstretched hand as his insides lay on the floor spilled from his stomach.

A/N: I know that I keep attempting to kill Nero. I have a fetish or something for torturing that man. Like I said in the beginning of this chapter; you either hated it or loved it. I know I skipped in this chapter. I hate skipping in the middle of chapters but I didn't have any choice unless I wanted an entire chapter to be nothing but the girls shopping for school supplies. I think we've had enough down time. From here on it's going to be mini heart attacks and thrills. I promised a very important person that I would see this to the end, so please keep reading to the very last word.

I also apologies for this chapter being short. This was a bit hard to write considering I'm not too good with fight scenes. Please review and tell me how I did!

Pure~*


	21. Latin

A/N: Hey guys. So I have a present for you all. I've made some (colored only because I'm lazy when it comes to art.) pictures of the characters from this story. Of course I don't have pictures of Dante and Nero. I'll have to draw those myself before I color them, however I do have all of my OCs. If you want to check them out please visit my deviantArt page which you can get a link to from my profile page. I'd put the link up on here but I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to do that. So without further ado, please enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 21: Latin

Dante awoke to a muted voice yelling something at him that he couldn't understand. His entire body hurt and he had a headache to last him _months_. He attempted to let out a groan but suffered an intense pain in his chest and a gurgling noise. So his lungs were filled with blood? That was probably why his body hurt. He clenched his teeth as his eyes stayed shut and his body shuddered to fight from coughing. The yelling got louder and vaguely he could feel another shock of pain surge through him before his body shuddered again. This time; however, his body jumped slightly and his nerves kicked into high gear before his eyes flew open, the world suddenly coming into focus around him. He sat straight up and coughed violently as his body fought to fix the hole in his lungs.

A few moments passed with his coughing the only sound around him. The voice had stopped calling him and before he knew it his lungs were in tact again and he was spitting up the last of the blood. As he calmed down a hand pulled lightly at his arm, instructing him to stand. He did, finally having enough sense to stand on his own feet before looking at the one who had likely saved his life. Not that he would admit that out loud. His eyes settled on the blonde woman that he had nearly lost connections with and he suddenly came to the realization as to what the shock was that he had felt only moments earlier.

"Were ya trying to shock me alive or cook me? Damn." Dante said dusting off his bloody coat. Trish only lifted an eye brow with an amused smile on her face before crossing her arms.

"I'm sure you wouldn't have tasted that good either way." She stated simply and turned around. Dante smirked wolfishly and followed after her. He somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that he was in the office downstairs and not where he had been before he passed out.

"Nero seems to think I taste good." He muttered lowly and Trish turned to look at him.

"You just came back to life from being stabbed through the head and lungs and you can make jokes like that? You un-fucking-believable." She said with a light chuckle as Dante shrugged his shoulders with a smirk and Trish turned fully as he stopped a few steps in front of her. "So what the hell is going on? Where's the rest of your family and Lady? I didn't see her-" Before Trish could finish her statement she was nearly blown back as Dante remembered exactly _why_ he was stabbed in the head, _why_ he was in the office downstairs, and _why _he was unconscious.

That black golden eyes _bitch_ had taken Agni and Rudra from the wall and stabbed him from behind. The force of the attack had sent him to the floor in the hall upstairs when he was trying to get to Thera. The effect of the sword on his consciousness had been nearly instant but he had caught wind of Thera's name falling from the woman's lips before he completely blacked out. If Thera was missing then the king of _hell _wouldn't be able to stop him from tearing the world to shreds to find her. So without answering Trish as to why he had nearly thrown her onto her ass with his demonic energy, he took off upstairs. His feet took the stairs four at a time. His heart pounded in his ears as he turned the corner and nearly tripped over himself in shock of what was in front of him.

Red stained the walls of the hallways like someone had painted it with care. Some of it had slid down the wall, but most of it covered every inch of the hallway. Worry settled in Dante's stomach as he took his first wet step into the reddened hall. The slick, wet sound of his boot splashing in the small puddle that had collected on the floor shocked his body back into reality and he nearly slipped as he ran forward towards the first room, his and Nero's. He swung himself into the room with so much force that his right leg slipped from under him and smacked against the wall. The horror of what he saw in his room knocked his other foot out from under him and sent him crumbling to the floor. Fear and horror gripped at his chest so tightly that he wasn't sure he had felt it this strong in his life.

"Kid?"

DantexNero

Voices. Muffled faraway voices. They seemed angry, violent, emotionless. The feeling of pain accompanied them. So much pain. It burned within and seared through each nerve. A groan escaped hot lips and the voices faded away, reacting to the groan. Then, a voice spoke. Closer, more clear than the others. The feeling of pain grew stronger as the voice spoke.

"Look and see what you've done." A sting of sharp pain and a body convulsing. "If she wakes up then you'll have to deal with it." Another surge of intense agony. Brief footfalls could barely be heard before there was more pain. Tears presented themselves and no matter the strength, eyes wouldn't open to the world.

"We wouldn't want that to happen now would we?" A soft coo entered an ear and another overwhelming wave of pain was felt before all senses retreated to the back of a scared, demonic mind.

DantexNero

"Fuck, Nero." Dante breathed out in a pained voice as he threw himself to the younger man's side. A lot of the blood had dried and flaked under Nero's body. The amount of blood that had collected around him was astounding, but not that surprising considering he was spit open from his right hip to his left collar bone. Dante clenched his teeth and swallowed the lump in his throat as he inspected Nero's body. Not breathing, unmoving, cold. Death seemed to be moments away for the young devil hunter. Dante's hands shook as he reached out to the man lying on the floor; not that he would admit it, but his eyes stung with tears that wouldn't fall. "Nero." Dante muttered through clenched teeth, trying to keep his emotions at bay as he picked Nero's upper body from the ground. Dante had slain demons and fought with the most vile creatures that humans could ever possibly think of, but when he looked down at Nero's stomach he nearly vomited. His stomach turned upside down and Dante had to look away and keep telling himself that it was okay when it clearly wasn't. His mind raced but his body was seized with the fear of losing a loved one. Trying to breathe through the unending fear that gripped at him he placed Nero's body on the ground.

"Shit." Came the light curse by the door as Trish made her way down the hall. Dante swallowed thickly and stood up, fighting to take Nero's body with him. He didn't have time to figure out if Nero was still alive, no matter how much he wanted to. He needed to find Thera.

"Trish," He said cursing the way his voice shook as he made his way out of the room, wiping Nero's blood on his coat. "Take care of Nero, _now_." Dante said as he walked past her. She stopped and turned to look at him but he let out a feral, inhuman, and bone chilling snarl before, with her hair standing on end, she turned and hurried into the room.

"Dante!" Trish called her voice seizing for a moment as she saw the condition Nero was in. "Damn it Dante, what the hell is going on? Where's Lady and Thera?" She called as the man walked into Thera's room.

As his feet hit the carpet of Thera's room and his body entered through the door frame, his senses became aware of a door to the underworld that had opened in the room recently. With a deep intake of breath he could smell different types of blood in the air. One was Nero's, another was his own, with two more in the air. Thera's was more obvious than the last, being a half devil gave you a unique type of scent, but the last scent had him searching the room. He hadn't smelled it before.

He looked around the wrecked room, taking in the smashed desk and the hole in the wall before turning to the bed. The stain that was on her bed smelled odd. It didn't smell like blood straight from a wound. It smelled like...

"Son of a bitch." He muttered and turned around to leave the room. No sooner had he turned his head than a small whimper came from Thera's bathroom. Stopping short, his brows creased with confusion. At that moment he remembered quite clearly that they had a dog. "Zeff." He called as he started towards the door. There was another whimper and as Dante entered the bathroom he saw the white canine lying in the bathtub.

The dog was on his side, his chest rising and falling rapidly. As Dante got closer he noticed a trail of blood leading into the drain. Kneeling down in front of the tub, Dante reached out and gathered the dog into his hands. Zeff let out a yowl of pain but didn't move at all. Clenching his teeth, Dante stood and made his way out of the bathroom, making sure to move as carefully as possible.

So many people and even their dog had been hurt by such week demons. How could he have let this happen? He thought back on all the times that he took care of demons ten times as powerful without so much as a scratch. He had grown soft while dating Nero and softer yet while watching Thera grow older. Not now. Not anymore. He would fix things. One way or another.

He turned the corner out of the bathroom to exit the room and his eyes were torn and dragged to the wall that connected the two doors where red was also painted, but not covering the entire wall. _"Stella splendida consurgens Ab imis ad excelsa Expectans saeculi excitandis Ad flos Aestate nibh teporem Ventum iactare pariat Ad parentem puer Ut erigo an exercitus Ut conteret sub pedibus hostem Et quod ablatum languidis. Erit interitus Et indignationem Et quae nova diei." __w_as written carefully and with a cursive hand and Dante could only clench his teeth and try to keep his demon under control.

"Trish!" Dante roared as he made his way into the hall once again. Stamping into his and Nero's room he gently placed the dog on the ground next to the two already in the room; feeling his nails dig into the pal of his blood soaked hands. His eyes fell on the two forms next to him. Trish turned to look at Zeff with saddened eyes and when Dante glanced over at Nero, he could see that his organs were, hopefully correctly placed, back in his body. "They took them." He said in a cold voice and Trish's face fell slightly, but not noticeably. "They wrote a fucking note on the wall. A cutesy fucking poem." He seethed as he sat on his haunches and looked at Nero. His face held emotions that he hadn't felt for some time; anger, sadness, _fear_. All the emotions he hadn't felt since he had lost his brother bubbled up inside him and washed over him like a gyser.

Trish silently tended to Nero's wounds, watching them close up as she held the stretched and shredded skin together. She wondered what she would do with the dog. She could take him to the emergency vet, but there was no telling what questions they would ask. She gave Dante a moment to calm down and get his head back together while she thought. In all honesty she was about as angry as the younger devil was. Lady was missing and the last thing she needed was to heal the man lying on the floor, but she knew that if he wasn't tended to that he would likely die. Not only that but they needed to make sure that the dog lived.

"What did the note say?" She mumbled quietly after a while of listening to Zeff whimper, watching more skin knit itself back together on Nero's body. Dante leaned against the door frame, still on his haunches, before answering.

"Bright Star rising, From the depths unto the heights, Waiting for an age to awaken, To flower, To feel the gentle warmth of summer, To cast forth seed upon the wind, To father young, To raise an army, To crush the enemy under foot, And reclaim that which was stolen., There will be destruction, And wrath, And a new day." He recited in an understandable tongue and Trish turned to him with a worried look.

"Do you think they're awakening the king of the demon world?" She asked and Dante shook his head.

"Come on babe." Dante began with an incredulous tone. "You know they would need some powerful shit to do that and they didn't seem like the type of demons capable of it. Even with that nasty fucker I killed that used Patty's amulet wasn't as low grade as these guys." Dante explained and Trish nodded. The last of Nero's skin knitted itself back together and Trish let the man's torso go, waiting for his insides to rearrange themselves. "What I wanna know is why the hell they took a human and a half breed of a grim reaper." Dante growled and stood up. "I'll go take a look at the books in the attic, if he gets up... Just send him downstairs. We don't have time for him to take a shower." He glanced over at the white dog with a grief stricken face. "I won't ask you to take Zeff anywhere..." He paused and closed his eyes. "At least see if you can do anything." He mumbled quietly and took one more look down at his unconscious lover before retreating to the hallway.

Trish turned back to Nero, looking at the dried blood caked to his face and his torn up shirt. Before moving over to Zeff. Compared to Dante, Nero had it the worst. There were multiple says to kill a demon. Shooting it to death, cutting off the head, slicing it in half; the list went on. There was the quick and easy kill of those listed, then there was the torturous way of killing a demon. There was pinning them to something so they bled to death, there was hanging them upside down and stabbing them with poisonous blades so they couldn't heal and you bleed them to death, then there was disemboweling them. When a demon gets disemboweled their organs cannot slink back inside them like an assortment of animals and because of this the wound cannot close. This is one of the worst types of torture. Dante only had a sword through the head. Though it hurt like hell to heal and was a burden on the brain cells, it wouldn't kill him. Disemboweling a demon was the one way that you could torture a demon and have them regretting their decisions later, if they lived. When Trish had arrived at the office it was nearing noon and the boys had been out for nearly six hours. That was bordering on death as it was. Trish honestly didn't know if he would make it out of this, even if he could trigger and speed up to healing process. He had bled too much and because of the blood loss, his regeneration was slow as hell.

Trish sighed and knelt down next to Zeff, looking at his wounds and noting that he had internal bleeding. Trish would only be able to do so much

"I'm sorry pup." She said and stroked his head before standing and turned to the door.

Minutes after Trish stood and went to the kitchen to grab the first aid kit so she could tend to Zeff's wounds, Nero's eyes opened startlingly fast along with his body before he jumped into a sitting position and took lungfuls of air. Occasionally his lungs would protest and he'd cough, but after a while his breathing slowed and he took a moment to look around the trashed room. Rage grew in his stomach as he remembered what had taken place before he passed out. He could remember waking up to a teenager standing over his bed and Dante missing from the room. He had scrambled to get up but suffered a kick to the side of the head from the teenager. Looking back on it the teen seemed to be a boy with shoulder length hair and golden glowing eyes.

_Adelais_

So it had been that little brat? Nero would rip the kid a new one that he _wouldn't _be able to fix when the white haired man got his hands on him. After he had been kicked from his bed he had heard Thera scream and he called out her name. That was when he was thrown into the door frame of his room and had his insides removed. The pain had been unbearable to the point where he couldn't even make a sound. After throwing his insides around like confetti Adelais had left the room and minutes later Nero witnessed his daughter crashing through the wall and landing on his bed. Fear clenched his heart at the amount of blood that gushed from her head and he tried to call out to her; however, the only thing that came from him was a gurgling sound. Panicking as he saw her look at him with pained eyes before she passed out, he lifted a hand just in time to witness a portal opening to the demon world and Adelais picking her up. They walked through and a woman followed shortly after, looking back at him to blow him a kiss before walking through where the portal closed. Nero had lost consciousness shortly after. The entire experience was something that made the rage in his stomach grow stronger.

So he struggled to his feet and made sure that he had his bearings before looking down at their family dog. He physically cringed at the sight of his dog lying in a puddle of his own blood on the ground. Kneeling next to the beast, Nero ran a hand over his fur and listened to the pained whimper come from his maw. Silently he sat there comforting the dog for a short while before he heard soft, yet hurried footsteps on the stairs. He turned just as the footsteps came into the room, his eyes landing on the black leather clad she devil who looked at him in shock. He looked back at her with angry eyes.

"They took her and Lady." She explained shortly and Nero closed his eyes, his face stiff to keep his anger under control as he nodded. Silently he moved out of the way as Trish knelt next to the dog. "Dante wants you downstairs." She explained and when he didn't move she finished with a short 'Now.' before Nero turned with one last regret filled look and walked from the room.

His head was still light from all the blood loss and he guessed he should be asleep for another week, maybe more, but he didn't have time. His heart was beating and his body was moving. That's all that mattered. He needed to find Thera. His body wouldn't let him rest. His inner demon knew that she was missing. So he was forced to wake up with half numb limbs and a sense of vertigo that outweighed his anger. When he finally made it downstairs he tripped on the last step and landed in a heap on the floor with a pained groan. There was a small shuffling noise and footsteps before Dante was kneeling in front of Nero, helping him stand with a hand on the smaller man's elbow.

"Back from the dead so soon?" Dante asked and Nero let out a low growl to which Dante released his elbow and put his hands up in defense. "Whoa, calm down kid, just messing with ya." He said before turning and retreating back to where he was prior to Nero's crash landing, which happened to be to open basement door. Nero followed him with his eyes while holding his aching chest.

"Where are you going?" He finally asked as he made his first steps into the office from the stairs. Dante turned to look at him with a serious look on his face that Nero had never seen before. The look would have scared him if he had not known what it was for. Viscous determination glowed in his light blue eyes with an undertone of blood lust that Nero never saw during missions. Normally there was a mischievous and playful look with a bit of a serious undertone. Not today. Not when Thera was missing. Dante was out for blood and the one's who took Thera would pay dearly.

"The basement." Dante responded almost instantly and Nero followed after him into the dark room. Had it not been for their demon blood they probably wouldn't be able to see. "Lights broken." Dante grunted when Nero accidentally kicked something and cursed under his breath. Nero hummed in response as they weaved through the junk stacked around the dark and cold room. Dante muttered lowly to himself with an angry tone before he kicked something and sent it flying into the opposite wall. Nero jumped at the older man's actions and tried to keep quiet. He hadn't ever seen the man this man before and supposed he should probably try to keep his head if not for himself, then for Dante so the man didn't get himself killed. After a few moments of walking Dante made a noise of approval and his foot steps stopped int front of a wall of boxes. "Let's get things moved out of the way. We're moving the library upstairs." Dante spoke with a slightly joking tone. Nero pursed his lips at the sudden change in emotions. Dante never was one to show how he felt, but Nero was starting to think the man was an emotional mess under all that pride. It made his chest hurt.

"Just move all the stuff to the side?" Nero asked and Dante nodded silently as he started to move things out of the immediate area. Nero followed his directions and moved some boxes. Some were particularly heavy and could only be slid across the floor and not picked up. "What the hell are in these old man?" Nero asked and Dante lifted a box with a grunt.

"Mostly old artifacts from the demon world that no one cares about. Some of it is junk from my old place." Dante said the last part with a hint of pain in his voice and Nero wasn't sure if it was because he smacked his foot on a pipe that lined the floor or if it was the unending agony of losing his family. He guessed it was both.

When they finally managed to get the place organized enough to maneuver without hitting anything Dante began moving boxes to the office. Books upon books were unloaded from them and the more Nero looked at them the more he wanted to ask Dante if he was in a cult that the younger hadn't known about. Oracles and insignia's covered the books inside and out. Most of the books were witch craft but as Dante began to pull more out he noticed some scripture that he didn't recognize.

"What are these?" He asked while running his fingers over a book title he couldn't read.

"Ancient demon dialect from Latin." Dante simply said before continuing to unload books. Nero watched as, slowly, the books overflowed the office and Nero was subjected to sit on the couch so he wouldn't sit on them. Dante finally closed the door and turned to the room. "I only took out the books I thought we might need." He said finally and Nero looked around at all the books with wide eyes.

"You have more?" He asked and Dante only shrugged his shoulders.

"Pops loved his books." Was all Dante said before sitting at his desk and opening a book. "Mind helping me out here?" Dante asked after a minute. Nero turned to the book pile in front of him and gave it a nervous look.

"I have no clue what to look for let alone how to read these things." Nero explained and Dante looked up at him for a moment before going back to his book.

"Yeah you do kid." He explained and Nero looked at him like he was crazy. "Open the book in front of your and look at a random page." Dante explained and although Nero had no idea where this was going he picked up the book and opened it to the middle.

"What now?" Nero asked and without looking up from his book Dante sat back in his chair and propped his feet up right where there weren't any books.

"Read the book. Whatever the first thing that comes to your mind is usually what is on the page." He said simply and Nero looked at him like he was insane.

"You've gotta be kidding me." He said incredulously. "That actually works?" He asked and Dante nodded, still not looking up from the book.

This was probably one of the few times, and he could could on one hand, that he had seen Dante this focused. Well, not when they were having sex, but he didn't could those. It's not like you had a choice in the matter when it came to sex. So with weary eyes he looked down at the book. The language was foreign to him. It didn't even look like a human language that he had ever seen, but as he scanned his eyes over the page he noticed that words were coming to him in the back of his head. Was his demon reading it? Was it translating it inside his head so head could read?

"Fuck this is so insane." He muttered to himself and heard Dante chuckle before he went back to reading. This was going to be a long day.

A/N: So I think this chapter went well. Some mindless typing at the end but it's been a mindless day for those two. This chapter came out a little easier than the last two. I think that's because I know where this is going now. With that being said I would like to point out I have two other stories that go along with this. They _can_ be read separate, but I made them from this story.

I love writing but I'm horrible with poems, so the poem that was written in blood isn't mine.

The poem in Latin: Copyright 1998-2001 by Nate Leved

Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next one should be out within the same amount of time. School is almost over so I'll have more time.

Pure~*


	22. Awaken

yA/N: Hello everyone! This chapter of Babes is going to be thrilling. I can't wait to type it up. Yes I type the Authors Note before I write. It leaves things open for the rest of the story.

Chapter 22: Awaken

Thinking back on it Nero never had any pets. Kyrie had once bought a goldfish that he took care of when she forgot to feed it, but it died three months after she got it. She told him fish, especially goldfish, didn't last very long. He hadn't know how long dogs were supposed to live at first, but he was pretty sure it wasn't just three years. The vet told Thera that a dog of his size would be able to live for 13 maybe 14 years. That was enough for Thera. She didn't want something to live forever. Neither did Nero or Dante, but they weren't expecting the dog to face death in the face so early in its life.

"You've done everything you can?" Nero asked Trish as she came down the stairs.

Two hours had passed by agonizingly slow. Nero had read and scanned through most of the books that were in front of him while he curled on laying against the edge of the couch. He wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to be looking for but Dante did tell him about the poem even though it was five minutes wasted looking at a book filled with the history of the demon world. The book he was currently on was about the origin of different portals to the demon world.

"You should take a look at this." Trish said, her voice seemed a bit confused and shaken, but not sad. This confused both devil hunters as they looked up from their books. Nero sat up on the couch while Dante dropped his feet from his desk.

"What's wrong?" Dante asked with a worried tone. A scent filled his nose suddenly that was so strong he nearly dropped the book in his hands. Trish seemed to notice his reaction and nodded. Nero watched the exchange before his own nose picked up the scent. He might not have the best nose or one as good as Dante's but he knew demonic blood when he smelled it. They got up from their designated area and shuffled past stacks of books until they got to the stairs. "Do you think he got a bite in?" Dante asked and Trish gave him a side glance that confused Nero even more.

"What are you guys taking about?" He asked with an irritated inflection in his voice that made them both turn to look at him. Their faces were a little bewildered and Dante's also adopted an excited look.

"Zeff got a taste of our big bad kidnappers." Dante explained and Nero looked at him in confusion as they made their way upstairs. Trish understood the look on Nero's face and stepped in to continue explaining.

"Our kidnappers are demons who live in the underworld most of the time but come through a gate in order to feed. Humans normally call them vampires but they're far from it. They don't just feed on human blood." Trish began and seemed uncomfortable but kept going. "These things eat their victims alive. They treat them like a regenerating food source and when they get bored with the flavour they dump the supply. They're like cannibals but if the human somehow lives from all this they can turn into one of them. It's the same way if you get a taste of their blood instead of the poison in their saliva. If you ingest the blood or it somehow gets into your system it changes you." As they turned to enter the room Zeff was sitting up on the floor licking his paw clean of the blood that resided on it. The blood in the general area of his body had also been cleaned. "The hunger is insatiable when it comes to human-demon hybrids. They can't get enough. I just don't understand how Zeff, a dog, could have been changed and lived through it." Trish said as she bent down and stroked the dogs head. He looked up and tipped his head to the side. Nero felt another conscience brush against his and he looked at the dog in shock.

"He's trying to talk to me." Nero muttered and Dante put a hand on his shoulder. "How can a dog be trying to talk to me in my head?" He asked and Trish looked at him with an amused smirk.

"He's not entirely a dog anymore." She said and Zeff turned to her and bowed his head in a nod. "He might not have the vocal chords to talk, but the mental stability is the same as yours." Trish spoke and Zeff's tail swayed from side to side in agreement. Nero couldn't fathom how this had happened.

"So wait." He said suddenly remembering why the hell this had all happened. "We know who did this, so do we know where Thera is?" He asked Trish and as Trish looked up he realized that it was probably a stupid question. They obviously knew where the breed of demon was if they knew the breed. She shook her head. Okay, so maybe it wasn't. "Why not?" He asked as Trish stood up again.

"We know the breed of demon is a Rakshasa, but the breed of demon we're dealing with doesn't have one central place in the demon world where they stay." She explained and Nero glared at the wall while sighing. "We _do _know that they weren't run-of-the-mill Rakshasa either. Lower level ones don't have powers as strong as theirs was." At this Dante nodded and stroked Zeff's head. Zeff sniffed his hand and nuzzled it before licking his maw and Dante looked at him with scolding eyes. Zeff's ears dropped slightly and he sent Dante apologetic thoughts.

"So where should we go from here?" Nero stated, the impatience clear in his voice. Dante pat Zeff's head one more time and contemplated for a moment. The room was silent as they all thought. When Dante finally stood he looked down at the dog with his lips stretched in a grin.

"Since you're part demon..." Dante started and Trish smiled slightly as she realized what he was about to ask. "Wanna be our sniffer dog?" He asked and Zeff's ears perked up.

Nero looked a tad irritated for a moment before looking down at their family dog. He had told Dante when they first got the dog that he wasn't going to be used for devil hunting. Things hadn't turned out the way any of them would have liked and Nero supposed this was one of the only solutions they had. They didn't have any leads, they didn't know what the hell that poem meant, and they didn't know where the demons were located. This was probably the fastest way to find them. Zeff bowed his nose in agreement. From here on out things were going to be more difficult than ever.

DantexNero

Her throat was dry. Every time she swallowed her throat stuck together and she tried her damnedest not to cough. Her body hurt. She was fairly certain that her lungs weren't collecting air anymore. Hours upon hours of pure torture couldn't compare to this. Every inch of her body _burned_ with pain and agony that she had never felt before. The pain was so blinding that she couldn't speak. Pained whimpers couldn't even leave her mouth. Hot breath was the only thing that left her. How had this happened? Why? She kept thinking this as her flesh burned under the tools they were using.

Tools. They were using brands on her skin. They _burned_ sacred scribes into her skin; some were branded deeper into her skin. With each plate of hot metal that hit her skin she grew increasingly numb. Her legs and arms were fully covered in burn marks and patterns. Her naked body was hung up by the arms to two posts where they had better access to brand her. Her torso and chest were partially covered with branded patterns but her back was untouched.

She didn't deserve this. She didn't understand how she could be the one half demon that ended up getting tortured like this. She didn't know where Lady was but she could smell the woman's blood. She hadn't smelt it many times but it filled her nose now. She couldn't get the smell out. At the moment Thera was left to hang limply by the ropes while the heated up more of the metal branders. Her body was shaking as she bled from the seared and tortured skin.

"She's still conscious." A muted voice came from her left. Her ears rung like bells in her head, but the voice came clear and sound. She felt the heat of the metal before it even touched her skin and she felt tears pour from her eyes.

"...please..." She whispered weakly and then the metal met her unmarked back. Her body jolted and her back arched but she immediately went limp when the rest of her ligaments decided to catch fire with new pain. She let out a feral noise that hardly sounded human before the brand was gone and she was left with the echo of pain and tears rolling down her cheek. She continued to tremble as foot steps walked around to her front. She forced herself to keep her eyes open and nearly threw up at the person who she saw in front of her.

"Hey Thera." Shoulder length auburn hair with dark red streaks stood in front of her next to a mirror image of the same, but this one had his hair cut short.

"Z-zane..." She muttered and looked over at Adelais. "...you... you were with him all along..." She accused weakly and Zane looked at her with an apologetic look for a moment before it went back to the bored and slightly annoyed look he was wearing before. He didn't answer her. "...Zane...!" She tried to yell and was silenced by another brand coming into contact with her back. Tears formed in her eyes and she screeched this time. She couldn't hold in her screams. Not anymore. One of the people whom she had come to trust had betrayed her. Even when the brand had left her back she continued to let out inhuman noises of snarls and screams so loud that Zane actually flinched back away from her. Adelais just smirked as a look of pleasure lit in his eyes. "You bastards!" She finally managed to scream as she looked at them in rage. Adelais chuckled coldly.

"Isn't this surprising. She still has enough energy to yell at us." He spoke coldly and Thera flinched at the tone of voice before falling silent. Her head dropped down in front of her and she glared at them through her hair. They hadn't bothered to move her hair out of the way when they branded her, so portions of her hair were burned to her skin and burned off. The hair stuck to her skin was pure torture. It never let the pain dim even when she didn't breath. "So scary." Adelais said and let a sleazy smile dance across his lips.

"Why are you... doing this?" She panted and pain crossed Zane's eyes again before it was gone. Thera had definitely seen it that time. "Answer me!" She screamed just in time for another brand the hit her skin. She roared and thrashed in her bindings but it didn't last long before the pain became too much and she stopped moving. She wouldn't let herself pass out again. "Answer me..." She panted and Zane opened his mouth to say something but Adelais punched him in the arm so hard he went tumbling to the floor.

"Don't you dare tell her what's going on." He said in a commanding voice. Zane looked at the ground holding his arm. "You're lucky I let you live when I had the chance to kill you." Adelais stated coldly to him and Zane glared at the floor.

"Sorry father." Zane said and Thera's brain stopped working for a moment. Father? What...? "I'll watch my tongue from now on." He all but whimpered and Adelais turned to Thera then.

"Someone who's a half breed doesn't deserve to know their fate." Adelais said before walking over to his son, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him to his feet before they walked off. "Make sure she's done before tonight. We're going not going to have much time." He called to someone and there was a grunt of reply behind her before she felt fire against her back again. There was another grunt a few minutes later and a man walked around to her front. He had golden eyes that weren't natural for humans and his skin was stretched so his frown looked equally unnatural.

"Looks like you're healing up in the front." The demon said and Thera looked down at herself under her bangs. Indeed her wounds were healing, but they would take quite some time to be fully healed. The fact that the other demon could tell surprised her. It wasn't like the burn marks changed much.

Burning the skin of a half bred reaper was something that lasted a while. Bite marks also lasted quite a while unlike claw marks or shredding of the skin with any weapons. Because Thera hadn't yet matured her demon half her recovery abilities were even slower. She looked at him through her bangs with scared and angry eyes as she opened her mouth.

"You're not going to burn them into me again are you?" She asked and the man's frown turned into a smile that stretched across his face. He looked like a clown without makeup. Thera didn't know if she'd be able to watch late night TV ever again.

"If you heal too quickly we might have to 'touch up' before tonight." He said before he walked around her and Thera whimpered as she heard him walk off. With nothing to distract her from the pain she was once again numbed with the fire that roamed all over her body.

'I hope that Lady is okay...' Thera prayed to whatever the hell was watching her that she couldn't see that they would help Lady. She didn't care about herself. Se just wanted Lady to be alright. Lady had helped her so much while she grew up. She wasn't going to let someone who was nearly _always _there for her die! Again she thrashed against her bindings and let out a sob. She couldn't take much more of this. "LET ME GO!" She screamed and thrashed against the ropes again. She tried to ignore the extreme pain in her body, but it kicked up again and she grew dizzy with the overwhelming amount of pain. Minutes passed and she just hung there sobbing. Her tears dropped onto her chest and ran down her body. They stung her open wounds. There were foot steps again after what seemed like an eternity and she jerked up when she felt a hand on her thigh.

"I need you to be very, _very_ quiet." She heard a familiar voice whisper and the foot steps walked around her to reveal Zane. She couldn't believe her eyes. Why was he back here? How did he think he had the right to stand in front of her with the way he betrayed her? He was probably going to torture her like his father! "I want you to listen to me okay? Whatever I say in this room I want you to listen to. Anything outside this room or after I leave isn't true." But she couldn't listen to him. He was here. He was in the _demon world_ with some demons that she didn't know. How could she trust him when he was watching them brand ancient symbols into her skin?! He was a monster just like them. But when she looked up at him she saw the intense pain of regret in his eyes. He didn't want to do this. She could tell he hated it here, but was the enough to make up for watching her be tortured? "I know that you shouldn't believe me. Hell, I wouldn't believe you myself," He shoved his hands into his pockets as his shoulders sagged his eyes glancing at the floor before looking back up at her with a steady stare. "but you need to listen. I've called your parents." He said slowly but urgently and her head lifted more so she could look at him clearly with widened eyes. He said that he called her parents? Did they have phones in hell with long distance? He seemed to know her thought process and rubbed the back of his head as he sighed. "Not in the way you think. I left them a message before my father closed the gate. I don't know if they'll be able to find it..." He trailed off with a look of deep regret before swallowing and continuing. "It had to be hidden in a place where not even _my _father wouldn't find it, but for them it shouldn't be that hard to find." He explained and ran his hand over a clear patch of skin on her thigh. "I really wish this didn't have to happen, but I couldn't have stopped it..." His voice constricted at the last part and he had to look away from her judging eyes. "I'm so sorry Thera. They've been planning this for centuries now. I'm still the 'baby' of the clan, so I wouldn't understand." He sounded sour at that. "You have no idea how fucking sorry I am." He whispered and his hand dropped before he looked at her with serious eyes. "There's someone else coming for you as well. I gave him the note directly. He'll be able to help your parents more than I will." He explained and Thera sent him a confused and tired look. "You'll understand eventually. I don't have that much time right now to explain. Again I'm so sorry for all of this Thera. I really am." He said and turned from her. He took a few foot steps away before turning back to look at her. "And remember Thera. Whatever I say after this conversation isn't real. I promise. You have my word on Eleni's soul that I'm not one of them." He said and anger boiled up inside her. How dare he talk about Eleni like that! How dare he swear on her name! ….and yet, even though she was angry at him she couldn't help but believe him. A Small bit of her was still angry and doubtful, but most of her believed his words. He seemed genuine.

As he turned to leave she could feel a small pinch of panic in her stomach. As if, should he leave, she would no longer be able to continue with this torture. So she lashed out in her bindings again in a small flail of panic and let out a small sob. His name was barely comprehensible on her lips, but the noise still made him turn around. She wanted to reach out for him at that moment. She wanted him to rescue her and take her home. She wanted to be safe with everyone at home where she could hide and fight demons easily instead of having to fight for her life here, with the fear of dying from blood loss before she ever made it the next day. Sadly she could only stare at him with pleading, wet and scared eyes. He gave her a reassuring smile and walked back over to her.

"I promise we'll make it out of this alive. I won't let you die Thera." He said and she let tears fall from her eyes.

"Swear on the name of Sparda." She whispered desperately and Zane flinched back at her tone but his smile never faded.

"I swear on the name of the Dark Knight Sparda that I will get you out of here alive." He said seriously and Thera let her head fall in front of her before she started sobbing again. Zane could only give her one last smile before turning and making his way out of the dimly light room. Thera was left to wait it out for as long as she could before she heard more foot steps again and she steeled her body for the next barrage of excruciating pain.

DantexNero

"What the hell is this?" Nero said incredulously as he pulled a red stone from the wall of Thera's room. Hours of searching the house with Zeff sniffing every niche and cranny had left them with miscellaneous objects that Dante had lost _years _ago and an odd red stone. As Nero held it out and inspected it Dante walked up behind him with Zeff on his heals.

"Gimme that." Dante said and snatched it from Nero's hands. Nero growled and smacked him in the side when Dante turned away. "If you were trying to hit my ass you should time it better next time." He said with a smirk and Nero glared at him before punching him in between the shoulder blades. Dante let out a puff of air and jogged over to the door to Thera's room from the force of Nero's fist. His eyes were focused on the stone before he turned around with a grin. It looked like he was a kid in a demon candy store. "I know what this is." He said and took several strides over to the bathroom door before waving the others over. "Someone left us another note. A note they didn't want the others to see." Dante explained and Trish looked at the stone for a moment before realization dawned on her face.

"It's a blood stone." She confessed and Dante nodded. Nero looked at the stone and hope filled in him.

"A stone that you can send messages with if you use demon blood?" He said as Dante turned the water on in the bathtub. Dante turned to Nero with the stone in hand.

"Scarecrow blood to be specific." Dante corrected and Nero looked at him with an arched eyebrow. "I don't know how they figure this stuff out." Dante confessed and Nero just gave a slow nod before crossing his arms and turning his attention back to the bath tub. As the tub finally finished filling with water Dante placed the rock in the water as carefully as he could and they waited.

Red tendrils slowly began to rise from the small stone. At first glance it would seem like the tendrils were just being cleaned from the rock and rising to the surface; however, the tendrils stopped rising to the surface and turned in the water to spread out around the tub. Finally when all the red had surfaced there was characters on the surface of the water.

_'Thera is in the fifth level of hell near the south boarder. You must come quickly. There is not much time left.' _The words were in an ancient Latin that, is they weren't half demons, they probably wouldn't be able to discern.

"Who sent this?" Nero asked after a few moments of silence. Dante only stared at the water with creased brows before looking at Trish's equally confused gaze. As Nero opened his mouth again to make a comment when there was a loud beating on the door downstairs. The muffled noise of someone yelling downstairs sounded a lot like Atoni.

A/N: It's been SO LONG since the last time I posted anything. I'm so sorry everyone. I know this chapter was stressful and so late, but I will surely have the next chapter out within an acceptable amount of time. Please leave a comment below telling me all the things that went through your head during this chapter! Until next time,

Pure~*


	23. The Grim Reaper

A/N: Hey guys! The first thing I want to say is that this chapter is going to be typed up on my phone. My computer atm is actually acting up fairly badly and I needed to get this chapter up before school started because I know all of you will be itching to read this before next year. So without further ado, read and enjoy!

Edit: So my phone deleted the first half of what I wrote... I'm very agitated by this. I'll try rewriting it as it had been before but in all honesty the part that I wrote previously was spontaneous and something that I just threw in as a kind of Easter egg. Granted it's important to the plot but I'm not going to get everything perfect when I rewrite it. So Either way I hope you guys enjoy this. Have fun reading!

Chapter 23: The Grim Reaper

The knock startled Zeff, causing the canine-demon hybrid to perk up and growl towards the bedroom door. Dante stood up from the bath tub after retrieving the rock from the water with a side wards glance at Trish. They all made their way out if the room silently as Zeff sped out of the room and down the stairs so he could bark at the door. There was mumbling from the other side of the doors. Zeff seemed to quiet down at the sound and turned back to the three just reaching the bottom of the stairs.

'It seems to be the teen who spends his time with Thera.' The message floated into Nero's mind mind quite quickly as if Zeff was unsettled by the teens appearance. His words surprised Nero as the pounding at the door started up once again.

"Atoni is at the door...?" He reiterated and Dante rolled his eyes.

"You're not the only one who speaks pooch, kid." He muttered back and Nero growled low in his throat. Dante smirked at him and walked over to open the door which revealed Atoni. The door creaked back and Atoni stormed in, a scarily dark expression on his normally boy-like features. The three demon hunters and even Zeff flinched back at the uncharacteristic expression on the young teens face. His brows were knitted together, a look of death in his eyes. The three devil hunters didn't know how to deal with the furious teen. They had problems of their own. Nero glanced at Dante who wasn't paying any attention to him before taking a step from the door.

"Atoni, now isn't really a good time-" Nero began but was cut off when Atoni whirled around to face him, a look of malice in his eyes.

"You think I don't know that?" He nearly yelled but closed his eyes and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "I know what happened. We don't have time for explainations." He said and turned to Dante's wall of weapons. He walked hastily over to the wall and grabbed one of Dante's smaller knives that he rarely used before walking over to one of the less cluttered walls.

"What do you mean no time for- hey!" Trish began to ask but was shocked to see the boy slide the blade over his own wrist, watching as the metal bit into skin and drew a crimson stream. Both silver haired hunters took steps forward and Nero even looked like he was about to run to him but when Atoni began to draw on the wall with blood they all stopped in shock. "Atoni, what are you doing?" Trish questioned and Atoni just merely ignored her as he continued making what looked like the beginnings of a pentagram on the wall.

The basic circle was filled with what looked like a pointed boomerang inside with another circle in the center before smaller shapes and lines were made on the outside; placed where the five points of a star should be. As soon as he finished he pressed his wrist against his chest in order to stop the bleeding before slamming his hand in the middle of the penragram-like sigal. As soon as his hand made contact with the wall it caved in and began to fall away. Behind the wall was complete darkness. There were no shapes or darker portions. The black seemed to swallow up the pieces of wall that crubled away. Dante and Nero's eyes met this time, but not on good terms. Their hands were itching to grab their weapons.

The wall stopped caving after a few minutes and all was still. No sound came from the black as Atoni stepped back, his good hand wrapped around his bleeding appendage. It wasn't until their ears picked up shoes tapping on wood did they see a figure walking out of the black. His clothes matched where he had walked from. A completely black suit with a white undershirt and black dress shoes. The man was tall and lean, almost sickly looking. His skin was a dark green color, almost black, and stretched across his bones like leather. His ears were pointed along with the rest of his features. His expression was bored and a tad bit angry, but when he got a look at Atoni his eyes light with amusement.

"Atoni, what a surprise. I didn't think you would make it in time." He spoke in a deep gravelly voice. Something rattled in his chest. Nero thought he sounded like a heavy smoker but it might have just been his demonic heritage. Atoni merely took a step forward and stared into the demons eyes. The green skinned man seemed to understand the look that Atoni was giving him. "You understand you will only have five hours?" He explained and Atoni simply nodded. The man sighed and turned to the other three demons that were in the room. "And what of them? Are they following you?" Atoni stepped in between him and the others.

"They're not gonna stay here. They'd probably force their way past." He said and turned to the others. "Zeirien here is taking us straight to the fifth level of hell." He spoke and the three Devils' brows creased in confusion.

"How in the hell is that possible?" Nero asked and upon all better judgement the two others nodded. Atoni huffed, merely turning back to the demon and rolling his eyes.

"We don't have time to explain." He stood with his feet apart and put his hands to his sides, fists clenched and arms tense. "Do it so we can get a move on." He ground out between clenched teeth. The demon only let a small smirk cross his lips before he lifted his hand and thrust it into the boys chest. All three demons took a step forward and let out a shocked and angry noise but there was a flash of light before they could react.

The light was blinding. Nero cringed back from the two and had to cover his eyes with his arm. He heard Dante hiss in pain next to him and Trish grunt. The light was accompanied by a loud yell; almost a sob. When the light finally went out the three adults in the room uncovered their eyes quickly. Nero was the first to take in what was in front of him. Atoni's body was lying on the floor; body motionless, skin pale, and eyes staring lifeless at the ceiling. What shocked him the most was the same boy standing in front of the demon. He was wearing his own black suit with a dark red dress shirt underneath. His cufflinks were red gems and covering up all of this was a tattered red cloak, the hood covering his head. He pulled the cloak closer to his body, covering up his suit completely before turning to the others, his eyes now changed completely to a coal black.

"We need to get going. Zane won't be able to hold them off all on his own." He said and turned to the portal. "Watch my body while I'm gone." He spoke to the demon next to him before he started walking. Nero barely had time to register what the hell was happening before Dante had emptied a round of bullets into Atoni's back. His cloak riddled with more holes. Atoni didn't seem to be bothered by the bullets. He only put his hood down and looked at Dante. "Did that help solve this issue you're having? We don't have time for this, unless you _want_ your daughter to be raped and sacrificed in order to open purgatory." He bellowed as his words became growls of anger. Before Dante could respond he turned and kept walking. All eyes turned to the demon who was dragging Atoni's body towards the couch and he looked up as he felt eyes on him.

"He's not going to wait forever you know. Nothing will happen to your shop while you're gone. Get going." He said smoothly. Zeff was the first one to huff and bounded forward into the portal. Trish followed after, pulling Dante by the back of the coat and Nero barely had time to grab Red Queen from its place next to the desk before he was caught by the wrist by Dante who was pulling him into the portal as well.

DantexNero

Thera could hear the sounds of foot steps. She had been branded over and over again, her lids barely open for any of it and the pain had numbed her nerves to the point of no return. The demon with the brand had gotten a little rough with her moments ago and busted her lip for bad mouthing his mother.

The foot steps got closer until she heard them stop in front of her. No matter how much she tried she couldn't open her eyes. She couldn't move her body. She couldn't respond. She vaguely heard them talking but she couldn't discern voices. She felt a sting on her cheek and vertigo but she couldn't respond. The only reaction her body received was better hearing.

"I told you we should have waited until after dinner to do this." She couldn't tell who it was.

"We'll just touch up the brands near the beginning of the cerimony. No need to fuss." Only more words.

"She could easily die from blood loss. How are we suppposed to sacrifice a _dead sacrifice_?" She didn't want to breathe anymore.

"Well just bring her into the chamber. We need to start this as soon as we can. And make sure to put her _on_ the bed. She won't be able to move and Serval isn't going to want to move her." She only felt the ghost of a carress before her mind was once again engulfed by the black sea of consciousness.

DantexNero

"What is this all about Atoni?" Nero demaned as they walked through the darkness. The red head merely glanced to his side at the older man before facing ahead.

"I was sent to Earth when I was little." He mumbled but it echoed through the darkness. "Her highness had been missing for quite some time after our lord was killed. She had fled in order to keep Thera safe." He said albeit a bit unsure of how to explain. "I am a grim reaper just like her father, except that I am not of her blood line." He reached up to run the back of his neck but noticed what he was doing and dropped his arm. "I was only supposed to watch her as we grew up and made sure that she was safe, but I had no idea..." He fell silent again and sniffed quietly trying not to feel as uncomfortable as he was. "A guardian like me wasn't ever supposed to have a relationship with her. I was only supposed to watch over her." He finally said, rethinking his words. Nero crossed his arms, seeming a bit unnerved by this.

"She's your girlfriend now, who the hell cares who she dates." Nero said and Atoni looked over at him with a sad smile.

"It's more like, they care about who I mate with." He said and swallowed thickly before Dante huffed.

"This isn't one of those 'gotta mate with the right blood line for pure blood' bull shit is it? You're living inn the human world now kid, you've gotta live for yourself." Dante barked out and Atoni gave him a happy smile.

"And that's why you're my favourite, pops." He said and Dante's face screwed up in a confused look before both Trish and Nero fell into a fit of gufaws and whoops.

"You're getting old Dante, a teen ager is calling you pops!" Trish said in between giggles. Nero had his hands over his stomach and nearly tripped over Zeff who was trotting beside him. Dante glared at the darkness in front of him, trying to keep the blush off of his cheeks.

"Keep explaining kid." Dante ground out between his teeth and the two hunters next to him snickered after sharing a look. Atoni wet his lips with his tongue before speaking again. Nero had to admit that was the most human thing a demon had ever done in front of him before.

"I was sent to Earth once word had gotten to the counsel about the Rakshasa wanting to open the gate to pergatory. Normally most demons are okay with whatever we do for the humans because it would benefit us in the end-" Atoni got four sets of glares at that. "but because opening purgatory can pull all living things in existance into it, we needed to keep them from opening the door. Don't look at me like that. It's true. I may not be like my family but the rest of them hate humans. They think you guys are are disgusting. Everytime one of my brothers or sisters gets a mission to reap a soul the smell is breath takingly horrible." He cleared his throat and put his hands in his pocket, the shift under his cloak not being noticed by the others. "I don't think you guys smell bad though. Humans might just be an aquired taste... er, smell." He said and Nero lifted an eye brow.

"You realize that me and Dante're part demon?" He asked and Atoni shrugged.

"Yeah I knew. What does that have to do with you being human?" He asked and Nero swallowed the words he was going to say. As he looked over at the other two they both looked at each other then at him before smiling a bit.

"You really did grow up in the human world." Nero mumbled before they stopped at a door.

"We're here." Atoni said turning around. "When we get inside I'm gonna hav'ta get you to put on the cloaks and stash the swords inside them. I'm sure any demon within miles of this gate will be thrilled to see the son of Sparda and his mate vacationing in hell." He said and Nero scratched the side of his nose to hide his blush. The word mate sounded too... primal, too wild to use; but then, they were demons and most demons he had seen were wild. Atoni made a sour face at the door. "Sorry about addressing you like that Dante, but most demons here don't know you as anything else." He said and Dante just shrugged.

"You get used to it. My old man had one helluva rep after all." He had just spoken the last word when there was a rumbling and the enourmous door opened, letting in the foul stench of death and tortured agony waft through the doors in a blanket. Nero gagged.

"First time smelling hell kid?" Dante asked and when Dante looked over at him the old fool was sending him a shit eating grin. Nero glowerd.

"I'm not as lucky to go to hell as many times as you have." He said with so much sarcasm that Dante could have drown in it. Atoni shared a look with Trish that exrpessed their thoughts. _Kids._ They both thought before Atoni turned and made his way through the time.

"Come on. We're running out of time." He hastened his steps and walked through the door. The place that they entered was a large hall. Cloaked figured walked about the room. Their foot steps barely made a sound but collectively they make the noise of a small croud. The low hum of voices was the only indication that they were in the room. Atoni flipped his hood up and continued walking. The three hunters jogged to keep up with his stride. When they were within earshot again Atoni spoke. "Try not to talk as long as you're in here. My kind doesn't take well to visitors." He mumbled and they looked around the room, catching many other demons staring at them.

When they managed to make their way through the door at the other side of the hall they had been stepped on multiple times, kicked some, and Nero had someone spit on him. He only noticed this when he was through the door and it was closed. The wetness sliding down his devil bringer made him scrunch his face up and make a noise of disgust while wiping his arm on the tail of his coat. Atoni shushed him before striding up to what looked like a kings chair and kneeling in front of it. It was empty but the three demons could feel something- no, _someone_ sitting in it.

"I have brought the son of Sparda and his friends." Atoni spoke in a hushed, respectful voice. The emotion of relief floated over the three of them and Zeff took a step back before sitting down. "Don't worry your highness, we'll retrieve your daughter and bring her back." He spoke softly and an onslaught of emotions settled over them again. Happiness, impatience, love. Zeff looked up at the three hunters and licked his maw.

_'This must be Thera's father.' _He spoke sadly and the three hunters looked around the room in confusion. Her father had been killed. There should be no way for him to be here, but they felt him. Before they could contemplate his life even more Atoni stood up and turned to them.

"Follow me. We need to get you suited up." He spoke and before they could answer he walked to the left and exited the room through a doorway covered with beads.

The outfits were close fitting and bothered Nero extremely. It was as if he were wearing a wet suit. Over the crimson "wet suit", he wasn't sure what they were actually called, he was fitted with armor. It was heavy and felt nothing like he had ever worn before, but he tolerated it. Red Queen was placed on his back and his gun was fitted at his waist. A black cloak was worn over all of this.

"Tell me why we're wearing these again?" Dante asked with a face that expressed his distaste for the uniform. Atoni was just snapping his armor over his chest when he was asked the question. He finished before speaking.

"The Rhakshasa are a type of Demon that can become completely invisible. You won't be able to sense them coming even with smell. Trust me, you'll need these." He said holding up his armored arm. "Trish help me get my other arm piece on." He spoke and she walked over, her own armor not making a sound as she walked.

"Was that Thera's father in there?" Nero suddenly asked. Atoni looked over at him as Trish tugged the restraint on his armor tighter. He looked at the floor sadly.

"Yes. After the Rhakshasa murdered him his soul remained in the throne room. You can't kill a Grim Reaper completely after all. We're already dead." He explained and Nero's brows creased in confusion which made him continue. "When a grim reaper is born our hearts have already stopped beating. We don't need to eat or sleep." He pursed his lips. "We're kind of like vampire, but we don't need to supply anything to our bodies. We grow up like any other type of demon in the demon world." He explained and Nero just nodded watching the other settle his cloak around him. It was only then that Nero noticed the teen was the only one wearing a red cloak. Atoni noticed him staring and looked down at himself before looking back up at him. "It's part of my uniform. It shows that I'm stationed in the human world. When other Grimp reapers come to the human world for jobs and they see me in my human body they can also see my demon form. The red shows that I'm allowed to be there. ...I'm also not allowed to change it when I'm in the demon world." He spoke as he grabbed a gun from the wall in turn receiving four sets of eyes, staring at the back of his head. "I'm not explaining my life to you guys." He said and walked away from them, not waiting to see if they followed.

* * *

><p>AN: Alright. I know that I haven't updated this in forever. Forgive me. I've been going through some stuff that I'd rather not share, but this chapter is up! It's actually what helped me get through some of the hardest parts of what I've been going through. Anyway yay~ You finally get some answers. I've been keeping the truth from you for so long. Please review and tell me what you thought about this chapter!


	24. Seven Fires of Hell

A/N: So I'm soooooo sorry about not posting. It's a funny story actually no it's not because I broke my computer and had to wait until I got another charger in order to finish this. Then I lost my internet and couldn't get to my profile to put up a note on my profile on my phone! Ugh! I still don't have internet, but I'm in a school computer, so it's all okay now, so enjoy!

Chapter 24: Seven Fires of Hell

Atoni had answered many more questions as they continued with their travels. The first one had been a long conversation; if he would stay after this was all over. Atoni had considered moving back to the demon world after this was finished, but that was before the two teens had started dating. He had been conflicted for a while. His brothers and sisters didn't want him to stay in the human world. They had fought with him about it. Telling him that he would be corrupt. Telling him that, after a while, they would not let him come back to the demon world. When he kindly reminded them that the princess was half human and that he was a pureblood they only went quiet.

He explained to Dante and Nero that, despite their allegiance to the king, having a half blood princess was a crime to the reaper culture. Mating with another breed, human or otherwise, was one of the most slipshod taboo that one could engage in.

"Our kind is supposed to remain pureblood in order to continue our work here in the demon world. We work to protect the human world from the demon world by Sparda's word. If our kind is corrupt, then we will not be able to continue protecting them. The reason that they were quiet was because they did not want to risk their lives bad mouthing the princess when they knew full well what their views were. They knew what a taboo it was, but to disagree with the king of the reapers is even worse. He's a nice man, but our laws prevent us from speaking against his word." Atoni explained. He had no negative views on the humans. Sure some of them were assholes, but the same thing happened with demons too. There were nice, polite ones and then the ones that spit in your eye as you passed. Nero made a disgusting face as he remembered the spit he had wiped off of his arm earlier that day.

About an hour into their journey they reached another gate. This one was smaller, and past it they could only see black. It was as if someone had shut the lights off in an investigation room and they were looking through the one way glass. When Atoni opened the door they all looked up at the winding staircase that led to the next level. With a galled look shared among them, they started up the stairs.

"Have I ever told you how much I hate stairs?" Dante complained and Nero huffed.

"If you keep complaining I'm gonna push you over the edge." Nero said giving Dante a small shove. There was no railing. Dante only shoved his hands into his pockets and continued his descent.

The fifth level of hell was extremely different than the fourth where they had popped in at. There were more demons lurking around compared to the fourth where they all just generally walked around. The atmosphere was an odd green and red mixture all around, red from the blood most likely, and was a great contrast from the fourth level, which was an ashen grey color. There was a lot of Prides, Sloths, and Lusts that Nero had yet to see around. Among them were the occasional Greed, which despite Dante's complaints for just charging right through the crowd of demons, Atoni had them creep around it, through the shadows.

"There's no need for tiring out on small fry when we're going to be going up against some pretty strong demons inside the hall." He explained. Brows were creased and Zeff beat the three demons to the punch.

'Hall?' He asked and Atoni looked at the dog in surprise. Zeff growled in annoyance. 'Just answer the question.' He said and despite the initial shock Atoni found himself patting the dog's head as he walked next to it.

"The hall is where most sacrifices are done. A lot of them are just small sacrifices, most of our own kind because of laws against human sacrifice, for our individual purposes. It's more of a stadium than a hall, but demons don't really care either way as to what it's called." Atoni explained. "Every so often demons will gather there for a large ceremony. Sometimes it has something to do with your father-" Atoni glanced at Dante. "-and sometimes it has something to do with mundus. Often it's to keep Mundus locked away, but some demons, the better ones, pay their respects to your father. I don't understand why they have to sacrifice a demon for it, but I suppose they have their reasons. I didn't grow up in the demon world so it doesn't concern me. Today just happens to be the day they pay their respects to Sparta." He said and reached under his hood before dropping his hand.

The rest of them were silent for a while before more questions were asked. They were more general questions, nothing too serious. Dante had teased him by asking him what he found so interesting about Thera. Nero had wanted to shoot him in the foot about that question. If they weren't sneaking around when it happened he probably would have. Atoni hadn't answered him. Mostly because he didn't know why, but brushed it off to his demon instincts. When they finally reached the crowd and there was no place to hide they stayed on the outer walls. Zeff kept low to the ground, making sure to hide in between them so he wasn't seen. Dog demons weren't a common thing in the demon world after all. Sure there were basilisks around every now and again, but they weren't remotely similar to Zeff.

Atoni had been right about the hall being more of an arena. It was nearly three times the size of the castle on Mallet Island that Dante had been to. How they could call it a hall confused the hell out of anyone with half a brain; however, as they got closer to the front door they began to see why they called it a hall. Through the door there was no doors to other places or outcrops. It was one large room with no seating and the ceiling was domed. Demons from all over the fifth level of hell filed through the door. The three devil hunters had never seen demons this... _civil_ ever. Some of them looked grumpy and some even pushed and shoved, but most of those were ignored. Today was obviously a special day.

'Do they know what's going to happen to the princess of the Grim Reapers?' Zeff asked and Atoni sent him a dark glare, obviously telling him to shut it. He simply shook his head. The demons were too close now. Someone could hear Zeff's thoughts. So if the demons didn't know, everyone would be in for quite a surprise when they brought out the sacrifice, possibly two. They still knew that Lady was trapped in there with Thera. They had to get them both out. Alive.

By the time they got to the front door hours had gone by. When they managed to get through the front door Atoni branched off casually from the rest of the group of demons and continued along the back wall. They weaved in between pillars and behind giant demons before they came upon a door. A demon was coming through, wiping his hands on a bloodied rag and the demons who were close enough to see him smelled the scent of fresh blood. While the other demons were busy looking at the one that had just entered through the door, Atoni caught the door with his foot and carefully slid inside. The others followed close behind one by one. Once they were through the door the smell of rotting flesh was nearly unbearable. There were no screams of terror or murmuring from the crowd they had left behind. Only the clinking of metal against rock. The place they had walked into was a long hallway. One that was covered, stained, and scrubbed with blood. The group of hunters scrunched their noses in displeasure as they began to walk down the hall.

They passed many different rooms. A lot of them were empty. Only a few rooms were filled with demons that were sitting or standing around tables. When they passed by an open door there was a sloshing sound and the three demon hunters heard Atoni say something about 'demons and their unhygienic bathrooms' which made Zeff chortle. Nero tapped his head in warning and the dog simply huffed out his nose. What seemed to be hours passed with them passing by rooms before they came up on stairs.

"Oh great more stairs." Dante grumbled under his breath and it was Trish's turn to punch him in the side. When Dante turned to give her an offended look she level him with a raised angry brow and crossed arms.

It took them a while to get to the bottom of the stairs. Atoni felt the urge to vomit when he saw what they were faced with. It could've been the worst that they had seen in hell. Bodies were lying all over the floor, all of them branded with unknown markings. All of them had bled out from the looks of it and Nero didn't think his nose could take the smell of rotting bodies. His stomach churned violently and he had to close his eyes and cover his nose too keep from forfeiting his lunch. He could handle bile, innards, severed limbs, and brain matter all day as long as he didn't stay too long for the aftermath. Most demons melted away or turned to ash, depending on the type of demon, after a while anyway. Rotting corpses of already foul smelling bodies was something he didn't think he ever wanted to smell again.

Next to him Dante reached out and slipped his arm around Nero's waist and pulling him close. The smell must have been getting to him too because the older man's face was twisted in disgust as Nero glanced up at him. Nero would never admit it afterwards, but he leaned against Dante as they walked across the room and around the rotting bodies into another room. Atoni made sure to close the door behind him as they continue down another corridor and Nero pulled away from Dante as they continued on.

Surprisingly enough there were no turns the entire way through and Dante was beginning to wonder if they were even going the right way, but as they turned a corner Trish let out a curse and ran into a chamber on their left. The four standing dumbly outside peaked in and saw Lady strapped up to two poles sticking to the ground and with awkward shuffles made their way out of the room as they all noticed that Lady was naked. They kept watch as Lady was pulled down from her binds and woken up. It took quite a while but when Trish walked out with Lady propped up on her back wrapped in a cloak as well they looked at Trish expectantly.

"They branded a large portion of her body like the others in the room we passed." Trish said with pain tainting her voice. Lady had her eyes cracked and she looked like she was barely breathing, but she was still alive. That's all that mattered.

They moved onward. Their footfalls bouncing off of the walls and ricocheting down the hall. It took forever to search the unending hall and before they knew it they had reached a dead end with a door to their right. When Atoni eased it open the sounds of many demons talking in dead languages could be heard and as he looked through he saw that they were back at the place that they had entered in only on the other side of the entrance. Atoni cursed and closed the door again, slipping his hood off in frustration and running his hand through his hair before rubbing his sweaty hands on his cloak.

"We're back where we started." Atoni ground out in frustration. There was an air of confusion around the group. Nero heard Zeff let out a whimper and kneeled down to comfort him.

"What happens now?" Trish asked as Atoni leaned against the wall. The demon shook his head.

"There isn't an upstairs or anything that I know of." He spoke. Dante looked back down the hall with a huff.

'_I still can't catch her scent either.' _Zeff said solemnly.

"We're wasting time." The eldest hunter ground out. Atoni lifted his hood again with a nod.

"Let's check and see if there's any other rooms on this stretch that lead to another part of the building." He explained. Zeff shook his tail in encouragement.

Just as they were about to walk onwards the door slammed open and in came a demon. It looked sort of like a Mephisto that crossbred with a Shadow. The Sabre tooth's head was covered with a red mask that melded straight into a black sheet of smoke. It slammed the door open, nearly hitting Atoni as the door cracked against the wall before it took a look at the rest of the crew before them. It let out a guttural growl which was matched by Zeff who took a steely step forward to meet the feline-like creature before them. The demon took a step forward just like Zeff and before they could launch at each other's throats Dante smacked Zeff on top of his head. The dog yelped and looked back at the demon hunter clearly offended that he had been stopped from protecting them.

'_Dante, what the hell?_' Zeff asked and Dante just glared down at him. The demon in front of them just snorted looking up at Dante's cloaked form before continuing on his way down the hall.

"Don't provoke any of the demons here." Atoni scolded as they followed after the demon after a moment. Zeff rolled his eyes and kept walking next to Trish. Lady was beginning to shake on her back and Trish sent her a worried glance.

"We have to hurry. Lady isn't going to last much longer." She explained. The two hunters inspected the unconscious woman.

She wasn't looking too good and they hadn't thought to bring a supply kit with them. It hadn't been on their minds when they had entered the demon world. Dante took his hands from his pockets and turned to Nero. They shared a look before one of them nodded and suddenly took off down the hall. Atoni had about enough time to open his mouth before they were out of sight.

"Those two are idiots." He mumbled under his breath. Trish only nodded and Zeff grunted in agreement.

Down the hall Nero and Dante were going through all of the rooms as quickly as possible. Every time they came to a room they wouldn't even bother checking if there was anyone inside. Most of the time they just cut down the demons they ran into. Sometimes they could get by without being seen, but neither of them could care less if they were. Anger burned in their stomachs like bile rolling and licking at them from inside. They went through each room looking for another door that might lead to Thera. Most of the rooms were empty. Some held demons chained up and left to die. Nero killed them as he saw them and Dante left a bullet in their scull before he went to the next room. It was only when they got to the room ridden with dead bodies that they found a door leading underground.

Nero had tripped over one of the bodies that was still alive after it had grabbed his boot and after shooting it in the head about thirty times for scaring the shit out of him he noticed a trap door underneath its left foot covered by more bodies. Dante had helped him move aside the rotting bodies so that they could get to the door. After moving the last body and having the skin slide off its body with a sickening wet sound Nero knew he wasn't going to be eating any type of meat for a short while and they had the door propped open. Dante looked down into it and moved one of the bodies so he could shove it into the dark pit with his foot. With a hand cupping his ear sarcastically and an interested look on his face, they waited for the body to hit the ground.

"Shouldn't it have already hit the ground?" Nero asked after a few seconds had passed. Dante just shrugged and gave him a grin one more time before stepping into the black and dropping into the abyss. "Hey!" Nero called out before cursing and dropping down after him. There was a moment of flying before Nero's feet made contact with concrete. When he hit the bottom though there wasn't an echo of contact or even a sound. No wonder they hadn't heard the body hit the ground. "Dante?" He called. His voice was almost immediately swallowed up by the darkness. Surprised, he looked around into the darkness before something touched his arm. He whirled around and threw his fist up, nearly hitting Dante in the face who was rubbing his head.

"Keep it down kid, we're not the only ones down here." He explained. Nero looked at him, confused for a moment before looking around again. Slowly, red beady eyes opened all around them and there was a low growl before Nero was pulled by Dante through the darkness.

"Dante, how do you know where we're going?" He asked. Dante didn't bother answering, only pulling him along. There was the creaking of a door and Nero was almost thrown ahead before that same door creaked and knocked against a door frame. The growling from before was farther off now, probably through the door they had went through.

"You know how to start a fire kid?" Nero heard Dante ask. Nero shook his head but made a noise of disagreement when he realized that Dante probably _couldn't _see him. Still, he reached behind him and turned this ignition handle on his sword which snarled to life leaving the room lighter than before. Dante huffed out a laugh and let Nero's arm go once he could see him so he could grab one of the torches that was hanging from the wall. "Try and light this." He said tossing it to his mate. Nero caught it and twisted his other hand again. His sword came to life again and so did the torch that he held against it. More light was thrown about the room now that they had a light source that didn't die out every few seconds.

The room was a fairly good size. A table was set up in the center with chair surrounding it. It looked like just a normal dining hall, but laid out on the table was a maimed body. Nero looked away as they passed.

"These people need a new hobby. Tattooing just isn't their talent." He mumbled. Dante cracked a grin as they turned the corner into a short hallway. At the end of the hall was a door. Light filtered through the bottom of it. With a glance at each other, they walked up to the door and threw it open.

Just when they had opened it a shrill scream pierced their ears and the smell of burning flesh filled their noses. Nero clenched his eyes shut as the screaming continued and dropped the torch on the ground. Dante on the other hand, couldn't take his eyes off of the scene in front of him.

"Shut up already you dumb bitch." Yelled a demon as they ripped the brand from Thera's thigh. She was still wrapped tightly in chains, but Dante couldn't take his eyes off of all the blood collected in the bucket under her feet. "You're gonna be dead soon anyways." The demon mumbled again as he turned from her only to settle his eyes on the new demon that stood two inches from him.

Electricity ran across the body of the demon in front of him before he was thrown back into the fire pit across the room. The demon caught fire almost immediately before combusting, leaving only his tattered clothing behind. The demon who threw him looked over at Thera before light flashed and in its place stood Dante. His eyes still glowed red with the anger that continued to boil in his stomach. Before he could get her lose however, the ground began to rumble and the poles that were holding Thera shook causing her body to sway. The ground below Thera's body lifted revealing a platform that was slowly lifting her towards the ceiling which was opening up.

Nero let out a yell as he ran forward after her and Dante called out to him before something rammed into his body with a force that sent him into the neighboring wall.

"Thera!" Nero called after her but she didn't even lift her head. "Thera!" He called again but before he could jump up to her, something rammed into his body as well, sending him back into the wall opposite Dante. The wall crumbled underneath his weight, but he could still hear the small cry that Thera let out.

"Dad!" She cried but it was cut off as the platform sealed off above ground. It continued and as Dante got up from the rubble to murder the thing that had tackled him, he saw the Mephisto crossbreed standing in front of him.

"I knew I should've just let the pooch kill you off." He mumbled as he wiped his face off. The demon gave him a sly grin. Dante grabbed force edge off of his back and threw the tip at the ground. It hit the ground with a loud clang. Another crossbreed came around into his sight before he laughed. "You're like a whole new breed. Who the hell let your parents get together? I'm one for love and all, but that's just wrong." He chided as one of the demons let out a snarl. "Come here kitty, let me give you a scratch under the chin." He said as Nero landed next to him, revving his sword.

A/N: So this was the second to last chapter to Babes! Lots of drama. I'm afraid that the next chapter is going to be awfully sad, but don't fret. It'll be fine. (No it's not who am I kidding, my child is ending and I'll have nothing to do with my life once this story is over. *Shot*) so I hoped you liked this chapter and I look forward to seeing you all in the final chapter of Babes!


	25. Tarnished

A/N: Hey there! So I thought that this would be the last chapter of Babes and luckily I was wrong. There will most likely be another chapter and an epilogue after this chapter. For those of you who were gearing up for the final chapter, so sorry! I know how it is to expect something like that and then have it pushed to the side, but don't worry, there's another chapter after this! So read and enjoy this chapter before we end their journey! Enjoy.

Chapter 25: Tarnished

Thera thrashed. Her wrists rubbed against her bindings, torn and bloodied with the effort. She screamed and cried as she was lifted into another room. Agony and loneliness filled her to the brim. The half demon let out feral noises as she yanked some more. The poles that she was shackled to jerked and shuddered, but didn't fall or loosen. Over all of her screaming she couldn't hear the murmur of the small group around her. It was only when she had exhausted herself that she could hear the low hum of conversation being spun around her.

The female lifted her head with much effort and glanced around at the small group of demons that were circling her. They were wearing cloaks with hoods that covered their faces. One of the cloaked figures reached up and took hold of her leg silently. The hum of conversation continued, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. An overwhelming feeling of anxiety took hold of her as the cloaked figure began tugging on her leg.

"No…" She whispered, then repeated herself in a scream before she began kicking the figure. It let out a grunt but didn't let go of her. Then she felt it starting to close its fist around her leg, and she had no time to process what was happening before there was a snapping sound and her leg was snapped in two. She screamed herself hoarse before they reached for the second leg. "No! No, please!" She screamed, pleaded, begged, but they didn't stop. The second break left her silently sobbing and shaking in front of them. It was then that they backed away from her and turned to leave. She only cried more.

DantexNero

Dante dodged another blow, trying his best to ignore the screams of agony above them, but the thought of their daughter being so close to them in _agony_ had his head reeling. Nero was just about in the same shape as he was. His focus was broken every time Thera let out a scream of pain. Twice Nero was thrown into a wall and he nearly missed having his arm cut off. Dante was doing better than she was, but the stab to his stomach has left him a bit woozy.

"You guys aren't very well trained are you?" Dante asked playfully as he shot two more bullets at the hybrids head. They ghosted right through towards the wall behind them.

Nero had the advantage in this fight. His demonic hand was able to reach out and grab the demon in front of him. His fight was over in minutes.

"A little help over here kid." Dante called when the demon across from the younger devil hunter turned to ash. Nero looked over at him and called out in shock. Just as Dante turned back there was a clash of metal before the demon was thrown back into the column that held Thera. Dante blinked in shock at the Demon in front of him. "Zane?" He asked. The boy turned to him and threw him a smile.

"Thought I'd help out a little." He said and threw himself forward towards the hybrid that was rising to its feet. Dante watched as Zane thrust his sword forward into the demons head. It seemed to connect with flesh and bone before the sword was torn downward through the demon. Once the demon was taken care of, Zane inspected his sword with a disgusted look before slicing it to the side and watching the blood fly off with a satisfied smile. He then turned to the two surprised fathers. "What?" He asked when all they did was stare. When he didn't get an answer, he pursed his lips. "Yeah, I know. 'what the hell am I doing here? How did I get here? Am I conspiring with the Rakshasa?' I'm here to help save Thera; My father, Adelais brought me here; and no, I'm not conspiring with the Rakshasa even though I'm related to them." He explained quickly. Both demon hunters pointed their guns at him; however, before they have the time to shoot him, a familiar voice called out to them.

"Don't! He's on our side!" Atoni called from the doorway. Both parents lowered their guns and turned to look at Atoni, who was panting in the doorway with the group behind him.

"Like hell he is, he's the one who attacked me!" Nero yelled as he felt a throb where the gaping hole used to be in his stomach. Zane coughed uncomfortably.

"That wasn't actually me." He confessed. "My dad had more than one son." He explained. It was then that Dante had enough sense to actually talk.

"How did you guys find us?" He asked Atoni. The reaper glanced over at him before shoving a hand into his pocket and pulling out the amulet that looked almost exactly the same as the one Nero had found when Thera graduated from Elementary school. "Where did you get that?" Dante asked. Atoni gestured to Zane who was sheathing his sword.

"My mother gave it to me when I was born." Zane explained. "Every Rakshasa is given one at a young age. It keeps us alive in a way." He explained. Dante nodded in understanding. They were, after all, a weak breed of demon. "I assume you know what that is since you have my mother's amulet back at Devil May Cry." He asked. Everyone looked at him, clearly surprised that it was his mother who Nero had seen at the elementary school.

"Either way we have to keep going or we won't make it in time." Atoni said breaking everyone's conversations off. "The next step to breaking the seal is sullying the virgin sacrifice with the incarnate of hell." He explained and the two half demons felt their blood run cold.

"Sullying…" Nero muttered looking at Atoni with horror. A nod was all the confirmation he needed. "So what do we do? How do we get up there?" He asked as they all walked into the room. Atoni looked over at Zane with a lost look. This was as far as his knowledge took him. They all had to depend on Zane now.

"There's another entrance to the room above us, but it's difficult to get to." He said and looked to the group behind Nero and Dante. "Lady and Zeff will have to stay behind." He explained and watched as there was uncomfortable shifting among the group.

"I'll stay here with them, maybe try and get out of dodge. You guys go save your girl." Lady said to the three men standing in front of her. Nero gave her an apologetic look before nodding. The rest of the group turned to Zane and gave him affirmative nods and expressions.

"Alright." He began, looking at each of them. "Let's go." He said and exited through a door at the other side of the room.

DantexNero

Thera managed to regain consciousness after passing out from fatigue. When she could gather her senses, and realize where she was, she tensed up and took in a shaky breath.

'It's okay Thera, you're just lying on a bed, don't freak out, this could lead up to anything, don't think about it, you'll be okay, just breathe, don't think about it, don't think about it…' But no matter how much she told herself not to touch that thought, her mind deceived her and she thought about all the pain that she was about to go through. She would be dirtied, broken, stripped of her everything she believed in her world. Raped. And that thought left her crying again. Her breath picked up and a lump formed in her throat. She couldn't breathe. Raped and sacrificed. Was this all she was meant for? No. She was meant for greater things than this. Demons forced her into this situation. This truly was hell.

"Oh dear. And I thought you would be out until I was ready." A calm voice stated as footsteps approached the bed.

Thera panicked once again and she found herself clenching her eyes shut, wanting all of this to be a dream. Just a flutter of a thought before reality pushed its way through and rudely told her that she was being a child for thinking such thoughts.

"Go away…" She whimpered and there was a humored chuckle next to her before the bed dipped.

"Oh I don't think I'll be going anywhere my dear." The voice said again as a hand wiped away some of the tears. "We have very important things to do so that the seal can be broken." He said and Thera's head was forced over by that same gentle hand. "I promise you'll enjoy it." The voice whispered softly as warm breath ghosted over her face. The smell of cinnamon and strawberries filled her nose and she whimpered. Not the smell of her parents. Anything but that.

DantexNero

The trek through hallways and through more demons was brutal. Zane was always ahead of them, always cutting down the hoards of demons in front of them. The three behind him stayed behind to get stragglers, but, with the way Zane was taking care of the problem so fast, they saw no need to slow them all down with butting into a one man fight. Zane's amulet came in handy on mire than one occasion.

"Here." Zane whispered as he turned a corner to avoid a larger group of higher level demons. Once the group passed, they continued on their way and disappeared around the corner that the demons had come from.

"So you're a demon." Dante said humorously. "Who would've thought." He said as they climbed some stairs. Zane glowered.

"It's not as if I chose to be like this." He muttered bitterly. "I'm doing the best with my shitty heritage." He stated and didn't continue. Dante hummed as they turned a corner at the top of the stairs before they came to a dead end. "The room is up there." Zane explained looking up the wall to a darkened hall above them. "We'll have to scale the walls or fly to get there." He explained gearing up for a leap.

Just as he was about to jump Dante triggered and spread his wings in a flurry of wind and electricity. Nero shook his head at the older demon hunter but said nothing as Dante took off into the air. Zane and Atoni watched as Dante disappeared into the dark hall and there was a flash of red that told them he had let go of his trigger.

"Not wasting any time." Nero huffed in an amused tone as he kicked off the ground and sailed through the air up into the dark hall. Atoni and Zane shared a look before they both began kicking off the walls and up into the hall as well. "It's this way." Zane said striding past them as he walked down the hall.

After running down a pitch black corridor for what seemed to take forever, they came to another dead end.

"I don't understand." Zane ground out. "The door should be right here!" And that was true. He had come down earlier to see if the door was indeed there and it had been. So why wasn't it there now?

The four demons looked at each other with confusion. How would they get in now?

DantexNero

Thera gasped as the man slapped her across the face. Despite the marks burned into her body, it sung across her cheek like the bands over the rest of her skin.

"You have quite a mouth on you little girl." The demon said smoothly as he put the glove back on that he had taken off. "I'm surprised that your _parents_ haven't fixed those problems." He commented. The word parents slipped through his lips like venom. Thera whimpered at the pain ghosting over her cheek. Compared to the rest of her, the slap had hurt far less longer than the still throbbing marks on her body. "You're trash you know. A little half demon who can't seem to control herself. That mouth," he began listing things off as he ran his gloved hand along her lips. "Those eyes," he said running two fingers along her brow line. "Those hands..." He said as he gripped her right wrist in his larger hands. Her eyes widened as fear slid through her like a snake.

"No please, please you've already broken my legs-" She tried pleading to the demon but the snapping of her wrist left her screaming in agony.

"Music to my ears." The demon sighed as he cupped the back of his oddly shaped ear. Before Thera could stop screaming he reached for the other wrist and snapped that one too. "Beautiful!" He yelled over her screams. When she finally fell silent, he let go of her wrists and slid his hands down her arms and over her chest to her stomach. "You're father must have bred with a goddess in the human world to be able to have a descent babe like you. Your smell is even bearable." He spoke quietly. Thera let her head fall to the side and tried to breathe. She was beginning to feel light headed again. "This was all you ever good for you know." He said suddenly. Thera looked up at him with a glare.

"Liar!" She yelled at him, but was cut off from mire when he slapped her again.

"This is what you deserve!" He yelled at her. "You were made from a whore and a traitor, what did you think would happen?!" He yelled again. "You mother was a whore, just like your dad, so you are too." He roared over her and her body wracked with sobs.

"You're wrong." She whispered but was silenced with a punch to the stomach.

"Would you like me to show you? I'll bring out the whore in you, just like your father brought out the slut in your mother." He said as he glided his hands up to her breasts.

DantexNero

Atoni and Zane tried everything to get the wall to come down: aging the stone, which was redundant because stone can't age; cutting it down with a sword; and aging the cement that kept the stone together. Nothing worked.

"Step back." Dante growled as he grabbed both of his guns. "This is beginning to piss me off." He said as he shot at it. The bullets dug into the stone but it didn't break or crumble. Dante let out a frustrated sound as his eyes turned red.

DantexNero

Trish ran through the halls of the stadium, looking for a way out. It had been easy to find the door back the the dark room that they had jumped down into the first time, but there were no stairs leading back up.

'I can smell more demons coming from this way.' Zeff supplied as they turned a corner away from the demons. Trish gave him a nod as thanks.

There was a groan from behind Trish's ear that made her slow into a jog. Lady hadn't woken up the entire time they were running through the building. Her wounds had taken a lot out if her, but now that she had been sleeping for some hours, she had been woken up by the jarring pace that Trish had been keeping.

"Trish..." She gasped as one of her brand marks rubbed against Trish's armor. Trish slowed and stopped before setting Lady on the floor. "Thera... She's..." She tried to speak, but she was too tired.

"Rest Lady, we're getting out of here while the others get to Thera. They'll protect her." She whispered. Lady however, shook her head and opened her bicolored eyes.

"Thera can..." She tried again but was cut off as she coughed up blood. Trish tried to stop her from talking again but Lady grabbed her arm and glared at her. "She can trigger." She finally managed before another set of coughs overtook her. Trish looked at her surprised before shaking her head.

"That's impossible, no half demon hits both puberties at the same time." She said but Lady shook her head. Trish looked back down the hall where they had been with a worried look.

"When we were still in the same room-" Lady tried to explain, but another fit of coughs erupted from her lungs. She continued when she could breathe correctly. Beside her, Zeff whined. "They started on me first..." She took a deep breath. "Thera kept calling to me, but... They only kept working. When the first brand hit her skin... She..." Lady passed out before she could finish, but Trish understood from what she had told her.

DantexNero

The demon sat on top if Thera's stomach, rubbing his erection between her breasts. She let out a whimper as more tears fell from her eyes, but she couldn't move well. She just wanted to go home. Even passing out would be better than this. She could feel the leather like skin of his erection rubbing the skin between her breasts raw. As it was, the demon was pinching and rubbing her nipples. She didn't want this anymore. She couldn't deal with it anymore.

"Please... Stop..." She sobbed, but the demon only gave a particularly hard pinch that forced a moan out from between her lips mixed with another sob.

"Why should I stop? You seem to be enjoying it, just like the slut you are." The demon huffed out. He didn't continue though. He lifted himself off if her stomach and shimmied down her body where he could look at her entire body. He let out a loud bark of a laugh and turned his dark eyes to her. "And you are. Look at you, dripping wet." He said giddily as he stroked himself and reached for her folds. At the first touch of her wet lips, she jerked away from him and let out a panicked scream.

"No!" She demanded looking up at him with red glowing eyes. "Don't you _dare_ touch there!" She screamed as the air around her stirred. This seemed to surprise the demon but all he did was grab her by the hips and hold them down as he shuffles forward. She wrenched hard on her bindings as she twisted her body forcefully to the side.

"I said _no_!" She roared at him as energy exploded around her, sending him back against the wall.

Right at that moment her bindings broke and the wall next the the bed gave way, knocking the bed on its side. Theta tumbled to the ground, her body triggering as she went. The rest of her wounds healed slowly and she raised herself to her feet. Her hair flew around her in a tumble of white as she turned to the demon who had taken it upon himself to fix his clothing and stand up to face her.

DantexNero

Trish and the other two in her group had just gotten to the entrance to the stadium when the energy wave hit them. They halted in the doors and looked back at the rest of the demons around them who were all looking around in confusion. Some of the demons were even thrown into the air from the blast and an uncomfortable air covered the crowd.

"Is that...?" Trish began, but Lady nodded against her shoulder. Zeff gave a small whimper at the pure _power_ that ran along his spine. Along with it came a presence that made his knees shake.

'She has been upset beyond comprehension. Her power, its so malicious.' Zeff spoke to them as the demons around the small group began looking around mire seriously for the source if the power. Trish nodded silently and turned to continue on her way.

"I just hope they're all okay." She muttered to herself before sprinting out of the stadium.

DantexNero

Before the demon could open his mouth to make another obscene comment, Thera moved in front of him. Her demon form was much like Atoni's. The only difference was her eyes and skin. Her eyes were a bright red color and her skin had turned grey like an overcast sky.

She reached out before the demon could retaliate and took hold of his neck. Her touch was gentle for a moment before the demon realized what she was doing and raised his own arms to stop her. Her fist closed around his neck before he could stop her and there was the distinct snapping noise that echoed around the room before she started sucking the life from his body. He let out pitiful screams of agony as the skin under her hand started collapsing in itself. The body began to visibly age and before she dropped the body to the ground, it was skin stretching across nothing but bone.

Behind her there was shuffling and the demon in her head let out a defensive growl. Warning the ones behind her not to come closer.

"Thera?" She heard from behind her. She recognized that voice. She let out a purring sound as she turned towards them and let go of her trigger.

"Everyone..." She whispered before she collapsed onto the floor. The burns and breaks on her body were mostly gone, but the fatigue from triggering in such a weakened state took over her all at once. Dante and Nero ran over to her along with Atoni who chose to stay behind them as they collected her from the floor.

"Thera." Nero prompted while running a hand down her face. "Come on,wake up." He called while Dante pet her head. Thera flinched in her sleep, but did not open her eyes. Nero shared concerned looks with Dante before the older hunter collected her into his arms. Nero reached over to the rubble covered bed and retrieved the sheet that was covering the bed so he could give it to Dante. "We've got to get out of here." Nero stated while Dante wrapped the sheet around Thera. "Adelias could be on his way here by-" Nero was cut off by the ground beneath their feet shuddering. Dante looked over at the two teens in mild surprise before the shaking stopped.

"How old is this place?" Dante asked and Zane looked up at the ceiling where some of the stones had fallen.

"Older than any of us. It was built even before Sparda's time." Zane explained.

"Thera's trigger must have knocked something loose." Atoni said as the ground shuddered once more. Dante cursed under his breath as he avoided a falling stone and made his way to the opening in the wall.

"Let's get the hell out of here before this place buries us alive." Dante growled as he stormed out of the opening and down the hall. The others followed behind, stopping occasionally to steady themselves then the ground shook.

They ran back the way they came and though it took them a shorter amount of time to get to the dining hall, they needed to find another way out the same way that Trish had.

"What do we do now?" Nero demanded, voice risen as the shaking nearly drowned out his voice. Zane waved them over to another door and they ascended some stairs to another level.

"It's over here, the door to the main level." Zane called ahead of them as they turned the corner and slammed the door open.

As the door opened and another shudder ran through the crumbling building the group ran through to enter a completely abandoned stadium with only one person standing in the middle. Adelias. The group of males stood in a circle, keeping Thera's body in the center. Atoni took a step forward towards the demon in their way.

"Well well, if I didn't know any better, I would think that you've betrayed me, _Zane_." Adelias hissed as he glared at his son. Zane held his glare as he also stepped forward.

"The human world is better than living in a hell hole like this." Zane said then smirked a bit. "A literal hell that is." He said as he unsheathed his sword. Nero did the same thing next to him as he walked up next to Atoni.

"Take Thera and go meet up with Trish. She has to be somewhere around here." He said as another tremor ran through the building.

Atoni held his gaze with Adelias as he shifted back towards Dante; only looking away when he had to take Thera. Dante nodded to him, getting one in return before Atoni turned and ran for the exit. Adelias raised his hand to intercept him, but was forced to block red queen when Nero lashed out.

"Look away from your opponents!" Nero yelled as he forced Adelias' hand down before jumping back so Dante could shoot at him. The bullets sailed right through his head like water before a dark chuckle resounded through the stadium.

"Look away? Oh, I don't think you quite understand." Adelias' voice echoed. "I _never_ look away from anyone." He cooed before Zane called out behind him.

Nero's immediate reaction was to duck and tumble, but his shoulder was caught by the edge of a small blade. Instead, while still ducking down, he took red queen and swung it out and behind him, where he caught nothing but air.

"I don't think you quite understand what I'm doing here. Had my son not told you how to fight me? Or do you just not have the _reflex_?" Adelias yelled at them. Behind Nero,Dante let out a growl and sliced through a large boulder that nearly fell onto him on its way down from the domed ceiling. "Come on _Son of Sparda_, don't you want to save your daughter? Your _princess_?" He asked. Dante merely looked around with a set jaw and a growl low in his throat. Zane put a hand on his arm.

"He's trying to trick you Dante." Zane whispered. "He's not-" Dante sent him a stern look to cut him off. He knew that they were being tricked. On the way out here Zane had explained all the ways that his kind hunted, lived, and Dante knew exactly what to do, but in this large of an area, there would need to be a lot of pent up energy for the effect he needed.

A/N: So here it is, the second to last chapter. Now that I'm not too distracted by school I should be writing an essay *Shot* I'll have the next chapter up as quickly as possible. Don't forget to review and tell me how much you want to strangle me read more! :D


	26. Fogiven

A/N: So this is the fateful last chapter. After this is the epilogue, but I wont be giving you any ending words then, so I'm saying my goodbyes at the end of this chapter. Enjoy~

Chapter 26: Forgiven

Atoni ran out the doors of the stadium with Thera cradled in his arms. Her head was pressed to his chest to keep it from bobbing as he made his way to the fourth level of hell. Dante _had_ told him to find Trish, but getting her back to her father was more important. As it was, he was passing many breeds of demon that he would rather have avoided; however, he wasn't going to stop to fight a losing battle. He couldn't fight a hoard of demons by himself with the princess in his arms.

Just as he was reaching the doors to the fourth level a head of blonde hair popped out from behind a large boulder just beside the gate. Atoni stopped by where they were hiding and looked at them in question.

"The gate wouldn't open." Trish explained as she cradled Lady's head in her lap. She wiped her sweating brow and looked up at Atoni. Atoni turned to the gate, his face full of confusion, and made his way to it. Thera shifted in his arms then. Her head pulled back as Atoni still cradled it.

"Atoni..?" She mumbled sleepily. The demon above her looked down, his black eyes widening as she took in his form before she laid her head down again.

"Passed out again huh?" Atoni guessed before turning to the gate again.

"No." She whispered to him which startled the man holding her. "I'm not surprised is all." She muttered as she lifted her hand and held into his cloak which was partially covering her. "You were too understanding to be human." She whispered again as her hand held tighter. Atoni felt his chest tighten at her words. Of course she would be mad at him for lying to her.

"I'm glad you two are having a moment, but we need to get her to a doctor or she's not going to make it to the human world." Trish called from beside them. Atoni pet Thera's head in apology before stepping closer to the door. More demons had begun to gather.

"Reaper." A demon next to him got his attention. "Why have you closed the doors?" He asked. Atoni arched a brow.

"I didn't do anything." He explained before looking at the door again. "My superiors must have shut it down. They're probably aware of what's happened here." He said and turned to look at the falling stadium. "I'll have to contact them in order for you to get through." He spoke to Trish. "Are you alright to stand?" He asked looking down at Thera who was looking at Lady. She turned her attention to Atoni before looking down.

"The breaks in my legs haven't healed completely..." She said sadly and Atoni nodded in understanding. After setting her down with Trish and Zeff he walked back over to the gate and made an irritated face. "I can't get through without a goblet of blood." He said then. A demon behind him huffed in irritation before there was a scream of pain cut off into a gurgle before stopping completely. Atoni turned to see the disgruntled demon holding up the carcass of a lower ranked demon. 'Brutes...' Atoni thought before pulling his goblet out that he always carried with him. He filled it with blood before holding it in front of him and stirring it with his finger. He would never get used to the feeling of the warm liquid. The voice of his superior soon rang out in his head as the blood resonated with the goblet.

_'Atoni.' _

"What's happened with the gates? Why have you closed them off?" Atoni asked in an irritated voice.

_'There are still more Rakshasa running around up on the fifth level. We don't want them coming down here. They had plans to finish off the king.' _Atoni ground his teeth together before sighing.

"We have injured that we need to bring back." He said with a hint of pain as he glanced over at Thera and Lady. His superior huffed.

_'I don't know what you expect me to do about it. There was a counsel decision. We can't do anything about it now.' _The colonels' tone was sympathetic, but Atoni didn't want to hear any of it.

"Thank you." He said politely before dumping the blood on the floor and watching it fall. He put his goblet back in its place before turning to the girls. "They're not going to open the door. We have to go up to the sixth level." He said as he looked at Lady's pale face. She had about an hour left, without jarring or movement. They had to get her some attention or she would be beyond help. Thera got on shaky knees then and looked down at Lady.

"She's too I'll. We won't be able to move her farther than this level. Isn't there anyone here that knows anything about medicine? What do demons do when their mate gets hurt?" She asked, there was an uncomfortable air about the demons before one of them spoke.

"We eat them or let them deal with it themselves." One of the demons muttered. At that Thera made a sour face and looked around.

"No medics, nothing?" She asked. Atoni gave her a sad look and shook his head.

"we'll have to try our best. All we can do is hope she can hold on. If not... I'll have to do my job." He explained and Trish looked up at him with steely eyes as he picked Trish up.

"Let's get going then." She said as she took off running as she held Lady close. Atoni called after her but bent down to pick up Thera before he took off after her.

DantexNero

Dante looked over at Zane in shock as he was thrown into a wall. Blood sprayed from where his arm had once remained. Adelais, still invisible to the naked eye, ran his tongue over his bloody fingers once he was a few yards from the group.

"Trying to tell my secret now are we?" He asked in his usual condescending tone. Dante helped Nero, who had also been thrown across the arena, to his feet as the older devil hunter kept his eyes on Zane. The teenager didn't move from his place amongst the rubble. "It looks like you won't be opening your mouth ever again." Adelais said after a moment. "Shame, you were my favorite son." He spoke nonchalantly. Dante grit his teeth as he leaned against the wall, still holding Nero's hand.

"I know how we can kill this bastard, but I'm gonna need your help kid." He muttered under his breath. Nero glanced at him, but didn't want to take his full attention away from his surroundings. "We need to kick up as much dirt and dust as we can... Just follow my lead." Dante said as he gripped Nero's hand tighter before a wave of power pulsed around him.

Gather. Pressurize. Release. Then attack, triggered and kill the bastard. Nero, still having yet to deal with his devil side, tried his best to gather all of the energy within him as Dante began to gather his energy again. This time, he did not release the energy right after collecting it. He continued to gather while Nero followed him with increasing energy. The air began to stir around them and Adelais turned to see what all the commotion was about. When he saw what the two were doing he took a step from his son, having been ready to finish him off, and was going to charge them when they suddenly let the energy go.

Nero and Dante let themselves trigger with two amounts of energy so large that the rest of the ceiling crumbled above them. The energy sent the rubble back against the walls which kicked up debris and dirt into the air. Adelais, still invisible to them, let out a grunt as he was hit with one of the pieces of ceiling. At that point Dante had gathered himself from his trigger and quickly scanned the dusty area as the debris settled. None of the ceiling had fallen on the two thanks to the energy wave they had released, but they hoped Zane was still alright.

"Dante." Nero growled out forcing Dante's eyes on him. Nero was looking as a shape in the dust that didn't have any features, but there clearly wasn't any dust going through that space. Nero nodded to it. "There." He coaxed to Dante who grinned when he saw the shape.

"Got ya now you demonic chameleon." Dante growled out as he shot forward. His sword was wrenched back and thrust forward but before it lodged deep into Adelais' ribs, his sword was forced away, the only implication that it had been his foe who had countered it was the sound of metal smashing against metal.

"Just because you can see me now doesn't mean I'll be easier to kill." Adelais breathed out as he brushed off his coat tail. "I'm not as _weak_ as my son." He sneered but was cut off from further speech as Dante advanced again.

This time Nero joined in. His gun fired off a few rounds that would have connected with Adelais' head, had he not jumped back causing the bullets to sail between the two fighting demons. The next to bullets sailed right into his arm. His yelp of pain was music to both parents ears, but the sound of a certain sword connecting with flesh was an even better sound. Dante saw bright red splash across his face as his sword connected with his enemy's body, the placement of the blood stains on the silhouette telling the older devil hunter that he had cut off one of Adelais' arms. The next two bullets from bloody rose lodged themselves in a fully visible head of auburn hair streaked with red and the shattering of bone and brain matter was a sound that the two hunters would never forget.

Adelais' body fell to the ground, his remaining limbs continued to twitch about until Dante smashed the remainder of his skull in with his boot. When the corpse fell limp onto the rubble, Dante detriggered and wiped the blood from his face with an icy look.

"That's it." He said sighing and turning to Nero who had also detriggered. The two of them shared a relieved look before they remembered that Zane was injured and probably crushed by the rubble before they took off the the other side of the arena. The boy had avoided being crushed by the ceiling rubble, but was bleeding out at an alarming rate. "We need the get him back to the human, to a hospital." Dante said picking the boy up from the ground and glancing around for his severed limb. Nero found it under a slab of ceiling, barley recognizable as a limb and looked over at Dante with a conflicted expression. "Leave it. We don't have time." He said as more rubble fell around them. The floor had begun to give way as they exited the building.

"Dante, at least stop him from bleeding. He'll die before we get him anywhere." Nero demanded.

"Great, now we're all carrying someone." A voice chimed in from a few yards from them. When they settled their eyes on the person who spoke, they were surprised to see their whole group still here. "Let's get going before anyone else dies." Atoni spoke again and Thera nodded in his arms. Dante and Nero jogged over to them and stopped a few feet away.

"Weren't you guys supposed to go back to the fourth level?" Nero asked. Atoni glanced back the way they had came before they began walking towards the next level entrance.

"We were, but the reapers closed the door, so now all the demons are fighting to get back to the next level up. Lots of demons were injured in getting to the fourth gate." He said as his eyes shifted to the small cluster of demons around them. "Lady's in bad shape. If we don't get out of here soon, she won't make it." He explained looking at her pale face on Trish's shoulder. Dante shifted Zane in his arms who let out a wet cough.

"Kid," Dante barked and Nero jumped next to him. "You still have my brothers sword in yer arm right?" He asked and after a few seconds of confused staring, Nero's face twisted with recognition.

"Yes." He confirmed and Dante nodded.

"Okay, I know where we're going then." He said placing Zane on the ground after he had stopped walking. "Gimme the sword kid." He demanded after he stood upright. The others in front of him stopped walking and Nero turned towards him with brows stitched in confusion before he held his bringer out and Yamato was handed over in a shine of blue. Dante looked around at all the demons around them before reluctantly reaching for his amulet around his neck and pulling it over his head. "This'll be the first time trying to open a portal myself, but I'll see what I can do." Dante said slicing his palm with his sword before clenching the amulet in his hand and wrapping the chain around his brothers sword.

The sword was lodged into the ground, sinking In like a knife through skin before the amulet started glowing brightly. It pulsed once before a portal opened up a few yards from them sucking up demons as it opened.

"Well it looks like we'll have a few demons to take care of when we get back, but it worked." Nero spoke as he watched Zeff launch himself at the portal.

"I don't know how long it'll last, so get through before it closes." Dante said picking up Zane. The two injured women went through with their carriers before Nero and Dante, picking up the sword as he went. He had just gotten through when the portal collapsed in on itself, leaving the demon world behind. When they arrived on the other side, the Devil May Cry office greeted them.

"Welcome back." A familiar voice greeted as they all turned their heads to see the demon from before their journey sitting in Dante's chair.

DantexNero

Thera sat beside Eleni, holding her close while they waited in the hallway outside of the surgery room. Both of their faces were twisted with worry. One for two close friends, and one for a lover.

Dante stood across from them, leaning against the wall and watching Trish pace the hall like she wanted to kill something. They both had frustrated expressions. Nero, who had been going to get them something to drink, came walking down the hall carrying a plethora of drinks. He sat down next to the two girls quietly and handed them both a cup of hot chocolate. They took theirs shakily.

"So your entire family... Is demons..." Eleni whispered looking down at her drink. Thera nodded, unable to say anything about all she had just explained. "And you just saved the world..." She asked. Again, Thera nodded. "This is just... And you," She said louder suddenly as she turned to look at a startled Thera. "that's why you never got sick or had injuries for a long time?" She asked. Thera nodded hesitantly. Eleni went back to her previous position to staring at her cup. "So... Is having white hair a half demon thing? Because Zane obviously doesn't have white hair." She said and, realizing her tone of voice, met Thera's eyes with a sympathetic look. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like that. I just assumed it was. You know I love your hair." She said and reached out to thread her hair through it. Thera nodded and looked over at her parents.

They all had white hair, but from what she had understood, she didn't think it was because her parents were half demon. Her father had told her that his dad had white hair like them and passed it on the him and his brother. So it couldn't be from being a half demon.

"Maybe its a recessive gene." Thera said. "For demons I mean. Certain breeds. Because fathers dad had white hair and he was a full blooded demon." Thera explained quietly. They glanced over at the door to the operating room as a nurse came into the waiting room but didn't acknowledge them. They turned back with a twist in their gut. "Zane's breed of demon probably doesn't have the gene." She said even quieter before clenching her cup tighter to her. The hot chocolate swished around and nearly toppled out of the glass before she relaxed her hands again. It was then that a women in a nurses outfit, different than the one from before, walked through the door and approached them.

"I know that you said you wouldn't need to be treated miss," She began, looking at Thera with concerned eyes."But are you sure we can't at least bandage some of those... Marks for you?" She hesitated, gesturing to the brand marks on Thera's arms and legs.

They were visible underneath the yoga shorts and tub top that she was wearing. Each of them was read and irritated, but luckily they weren't bleeding anymore. She was still covered in blood at some places though, which the doctors hadn't been at all pleased about when she arrived at the hospital with her parents. Still, the marks would heal by the time they left the hospital, and the nurse didn't need to be wasting bandages on her wounds when she could be using them on someone else. She shook her head.

"I'm fine, really." she said, shifting in her chair and leaning closer to Eleni. "I know they look bad, but it would be a waste of bandages." She explained. The nurse looked as if she were about to protest, but held her tongue and with another concerned look she turned away from them and walked back to her station.

It was then that the doors to the ward opened again and in came a doctor. He was taking his mask from his face wearing a smile on his face. After six hours sitting in the waiting room and waiting for two friends, they were finally going to hear good news.

"Lady will be fine. A lot of her body will be scarred, but we've managed to treat most of the wounds and lacerations." He began. Trish, who had been standing at Dante's side, let out a sigh of relief. "Zane will be fine as well. However, because he lost his arm, he will need to be in intensive care for a while longer. Luckily the damage to his arm was a clean cut and not something like a bread knife." He explained. Eleni put her head in her hands and took a few comforting breaths.

"My boyfriend is missing a limb." She whispered and wiped her face with her hands. "This is going to kill him." She said looking at Thera with sad eyes. Thera rubbed her shoulder with the arm she had wrapped around her and looked at the doctor again.

"With therapy he and a prosthetic arm he would be able to function like a normal human being again-" Inwardly they all cringed. He wasn't even human to begin with. "-and do the things he's always done." He said. "I'll leave the payment plan to the nurse at the desk. She'll talk to you about how you can pay." He said before turning and heading back through the doors.

Atoni scratched the back of his head and leaned back in his chair.

"I'm glad that we could get them here in time. I wasn't gonna enjoy seeing him off." He mumbled as Thera looked over at him. She shifted in her chair and looked down at the floor hastily when Atoni tried to meet her gaze. She saw his pained look as she glanced back up.

On the way to the hospital Thera had parted with Atoni so he could return to his human body. There was no time to exchange words until they had met in the hall outside the emergency wing. Even then, Thera refused to meet his gaze and wouldn't answer Atoni when he spoke to her. Keeping something like that from her... It was one thing if they were friends. There were some secrets you kept from friends even if they were like your sibling, but a lover? She couldn't believe that he hadn't told her, even when they were the same breed of demon! So, her trust in the male demon was tainted with doubt. Not only had he not told her that they were the same demon, but that he knew her the day they had met on the beach. She didn't know why he hadn't told her that day that he knew her, but she was confused and didn't know what to do about the situation.

Thera was broken from her thoughts when Dante placed his large hand on her back causing her to look over at him. He gestured for her to follow him with his head and walked down the hall and around the corner where none of the demons could hear them. When they stopped walking Dante turned to inspect Thera. She watched his face in silent discomfort before she couldn't keep it in any longer.

"What? I know I look horrible, but I can't look that bad." She said as he met her eyes again. His blue orbs were filled with sympathy.

"I see the way you've been acting towards Atoni." He said suddenly. Thera looked to the ground at that. She didn't think she had been so obvious. "Hell, I'm sure everyone saw it." He dumped on her. She cracked her thumbs in a nervous bout of irritation. "I'm not gonna get in the middle of it, but try not to be pig headed about it. You didn't tell him you were a demon either." He explained and Thera flinched at his tone. Her index and middle fingers were cracked this time. "I know you can be hard headed, but at least talk to him about it." He said placing his hand on her head and ruffling it once before retreating back to the group. She stayed where she was. Less than two seconds later, as if he were listening the whole time, Atoni came around the corner. Thera kept her eyes down, not trusting herself to meet his eyes.

"I know I lied to you. I should have told you." He said. She nodded silently, but looked up at him, her eyes hard. His were apologetic. "What I kept from you, why I didn't tell you, it was all to protect you. If you had known you would have been in danger." He explained. Thera took in a breath and her shoulders slumped.

"I just wish you would have hinted at it at least. I know if you had told me I probably would have put my real dad in danger too..." She said but shook her head. "I mean, I guess it doesn't matter now, we're all alive." She said slowly looking back at him with a small smile. He smiled back, his tan skin stretching over white teeth.

"Yeah." He agreed and held a hand out to her. She hesitated, but placed her own in his before they closed around each other and he gently pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him with a satisfied smile. "I'm glad you forgave me. I don't know what is do if I had to find another princess to fall in love with." He whispered and she leaned back with a laugh before smacking him in the bicep. He chuckled and pulled her back into a hug.

"Hey love birds!" Nero called from down the hall. "We're going out for lunch. Get a move on." He yelled as people shuffled a few yards away from their separating bodies.

"We better not be going to the ice cream shop." Thera called as she turned to continue down the hall. Atoni caught her hand before she could continue around the corner and pulled her back into a chaste kiss as he entwined their fingers together. She grinned as they pulled away and pulled Atoni around the corner, hands still folded together.

Zane would recover and Lady would have scars, but she would get to visit her real dad in the demon world, even if they hadn't finished exterminating all the Rakshasa. It would take time, but they had all the time in the world.

A/N: Wow, okay, that took longer than I expected. I'm glad that I finished it though, I'm happy with the ending. Do not fear though, there's still a smaller ending after this that'll take place later in Thera's story. I hope you'll stay for that too. :) Leave a comment down below in the box. I worked my ass off on this chapter. I'd like to know what you thought about it. And with that I'd like to say goodbye to you guys. It's been a really great trip. There was lots of feelings that I put into this story and honestly, I couldn't have finished it without all the support from you guys. This is the longest piece that I've ever written that I liked the results of. I'll definitely write more fanfiction even if it won't have Thera in it. More DantexNero and other fandoms, so enjoy the Epilogue and have a wonderful life you guys.


	27. Babes

In the Devil May Cry office, the usually quiet abode, it was now buzzing with life. Demons and humans walked around in a flurry of excitement. The smell of food flowed out of the kitchen and through the open windows and front door. There was laughter and cheering among the usually empty room. It was rather crowded, but that was to be expected when friends and family were all crowded into one small room. There was music playing in the background: the only type of music that Dante and Nero ever had on the jukebox. None of the people there seemed to mind. The sound of an engine arriving and cutting off silenced some of the voices inside the building, but the excited hum didn't halt even for a second.

"They're here." Thera whispered as she stood from the couch. Atoni stood with her, holding her arm as they walked over to the open door.

Two people got out of the sports car. One had olive coloured skin while the other had pale skin. When they saw the couple standing in the doorway of the office, they both raised their hands in a wave. One hand was the same smooth olive while the other was a synthetic skin that connected to a prosthetic limb.

"Thera! You've gotten so big!" The female said as they ran up and hugged her. Thera laughed and tried to return the hug, but her stomach was too large to let her reach.

"And you haven't changed a bit Elle, Zane." Thera said softly, barely heard over the music. Atoni wrapped a hand around her shoulders as Zane walked up behind Eleni and wrapped a hand around her shoulders as well.

"I just got a new model for my arm. How can you say I haven't changed?" Zane teased as he flexed his prosthetic. Thera let out a laugh and placed her hand on her stomach.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Well Elle hasn't changed then." She corrected and looked back at the car. "Still have the same car I see." She said as she looked back at them. "We go through a new one every other week now. Father can't seem to keep the demons away from this place." She said gesturing to the newest car with her head. The motorcycle sat next to it with a tarp thrown over, untouched. Atoni squeezed her shoulders.

"Why don't we get them inside so we can start?" He said and she looked up at him before nodding. "Besides, Zane has to tell me all about his new job in the city." He pointed out as Zane chuckled.

"Yeah so I can finally pay off the car that Elle bought me." He said guiding her into the office behind the two in front of them. The glint of four rings shone in the sun before the door to the office closed.

The Devil May Cry sign flickered above the office doors once before settling down as the music inside continued.


End file.
